Foot Stress Reaction Sidelines Suns Center Mark Williams for at Least Two Weeks
SLUG: mark-williams-sidelined-two-weeks-with-foot-stress-reaction
Phoenix, AZ — The Suns will be without starting center Mark Williams for a minimum of two to three weeks after imaging revealed a stress reaction in the third metatarsal of his left foot, the team announced Tuesday.
The 24-year-old will be reevaluated in the same timeframe, but no target date for his return has been set. Williams logged 22 minutes in Phoenix’s 11-point win at Sacramento on Tuesday, though the club has not specified when the injury occurred.
Selected 15th overall by Charlotte in the 2022 draft after two seasons at Duke, the 7-1 big man appeared in only 106 games across three injury-plagued seasons with the Hornets before being traded to Phoenix last summer. A tailored conditioning plan had helped keep him on the floor this year; he has already played a career-high 56 games, missing just five contests while the Suns sit at 35-26.
Williams’s absence is expected to stretch through a dense portion of the schedule. Phoenix plays nine times between March 5 and March 19, and a full three-week layoff would sideline him for as many as 12 games.
Through his 56 outings this season, the restricted-free-agent-to-be is averaging 11.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks in 23.6 minutes, shooting 63.3% from the field and 76.7% at the line.
Backup center Oso Ighodaro is expected to step into the starting lineup, while rookies Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Maluach could see expanded minutes off the bench.
Source: Hoops Rumors
