Golden State Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry sustained a Grade 2 sprain of his left MCL and will be re-evaluated in three weeks, effectively ruling him out of the rest of the regular season.
Curry suffered the injury in his first game in over two weeks, against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, having recently been sidelined after re-aggravating an ankle issue that has forced him to miss 21 games this campaign.
The two-time MVP was noticeably hobbled after a play in which team-mate JaVale McGee fell into him in the third quarter of a 106-94 home win over the Hawks.
It is an injury similar to the one Curry sustained in 2016, when a Grade 1 MCL sprain sustained in game four of a first-round playoff series with the Houston Rockets led him to miss two weeks.
The Warriors have only 10 games remaining in the regular season and Curry's re-evaluation coincides with the start of the playoffs on April 14.
The Warriors essentially are locked into the Western Conference's second seed behind the Rockets, meaning Curry's absence will not impact their playoff positioning.
Coach Steve Kerr was optimistic after the game.
"I definitely do not have an ominous feeling," coach Steve Kerr told reporters.
"I feel like I'm disappointed for Steph mostly tonight, we'll see how long he has to be out, but we'll have guys coming back in the next couple weeks and we've got enough and we can push forward."
