Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal suffered an ankle sprain late in the team's 90-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. After the game, he said that X-ray were negative and that he'll get more tests tomorrow.
"I honestly thought it was more serious than what it was. At first I really couldn't move my foot, I couldn't really feel it. I guess that's what happens when you're just in shock, when your mind's just going all over the place. I'm grateful to have the teammates that I have and they have my back," Beal said.
Randy Wittman described the injury as "a straight ankle sprain."
"Obviously, we don't know how severe (it is) right now. We'll, I'm sure, get x-rays and stuff on that tonight and see how he is tomorrow," he said.
Obviously this isn't a good thing, but the news that the ankle was simply sprained and nothing more, for now, is an enormous relief. Players rarely get injured so severely that they need to be carried off the court. As such, when they do, it's usually something that could put them out of action for months. Beal was able to walk to his locker from the showers without any assistance tonight and mentioned that he'd suffered ankle sprains before this one, so he'll likely be able to get back to full speed fairly quickly, though he was seen on crutches at other points.
After the game, John Wall revealed that Beal was already playing through a high sprain to his other ankle, which helps explain why he was unable to leave the court on his own. No one has given a timetable for Beal's return. Tony Parker recently suffered a Grade II sprain and is expected to miss about four weeks of action, but it's not clear if Beal's injury is that bad.