Glenn Robinson III’s season debut will come later than expected as he will soon undergo surgery on his left ankle, Pacers head coach Nate McMillan confirmed on Thursday.
The Pacers originally expected him to miss approximately eight weeks, diagnosed with a left high ankle sprain. That would have cost him nearly 25 percent of the season and setup for a late-November return.
That timeline will be pushed back, though — another two to four weeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski — by going under the knife.
Robinson III, who is in a contract year, took a positive approach after suffering the first serious injury of his career.
“Everybody thought it was way worse than what the MRI said, which is good,” he said on Sept. 30, the day after he sustained a severe ankle sprain on a mid-air collision with a teammate.” So I’m just trying to stay positive about that.
“The way I fell, my knee buckled up under me and my ankle was under my knee. It was all messed up. Luckily, I think my ankle took a lot of that pressure so it ended up being more of an ankle sprain.”
The Pacers had Wednesday off after playing in back-to-back games. We will hear from head coach Nate McMillan after practice on Thursday.
As the Pacers set their roster this week, this likely influence their decisions. They have two available spots and will have to cut at least three players from their training camp roster.
Veteran Damien Wilkins, who filled Robinson III’s minutes during exhibition play (7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds per game), and Alex Poythress figure to be the prime candidates to take on a larger role. Rookie T.J. Leaf has also practiced as the wing some, but coach primarily wants to use him at the four.
“He has been playing the four all training camp,” McMillan said. “He has a high basketball IQ and is capable of switching from the four to the three.”
Robinson III did not travel to the preseason games, and has had a difficult time walking on his left ankle.
Glenn Robinson III (left high ankle sprain) walking with a significant limp pic.twitter.com/2vQfBiUv22
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) October 8, 2017
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