Knick’s Kristaps Porzingis rolled his ankle to an extreme angle, making everyone watching believe that he had a serious breakage.
In reality, Porzingis is well enough to walk, having only sprained his ankle. His X rays show no signs of bone damage, but an MRI may reveal some ligament damage that may take some time to properly heal.
Ligament damage may not take Porzingis off the court as long as a fracture would, but he will have to continue to rehabilitate his ankle to avoid future injuries. Ligaments are more difficult to heal than bone and during a tear, they are stretched beyond their natural length. This means that the ligament is less able to hold the ankle secure and this lack of stability makes recurring injuries more likely.
Porzingis’ doctors have advised him to rest for now and they will probably keep him on a sports rehabilitation program for his ankle even once he begins to play again. Sports rehabilitation will strengthen his weak area so it will be less likely the star player will be sidelined with an ankle injury again.