The veteran forward is expected to miss time and will undergo further evaluations.
Gordon Hayward will be sidelined indefinitely with a left shoulder fracture and the Charlotte Hornets expect him to miss time, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Sources: Charlotte’s Gordon Hayward will be sidelined indefinitely due to a fracture in his left shoulder. Hornets expect Hayward to miss time and he is undergoing further evaluations.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 26, 2022
After scoring 20-plus four times in the first eight games of the season, Hayward missed the following eight games with a left shoulder contusion. He later appeared to aggravate that injury against Washington, though he remained in the game despite clearly being in pain. Now, after missing tonight’s game against Minnesota with a shoulder contusion, the injury has been re-diagnosed as a fracture and he’s expected to be out for the foreseeable future.
This marks yet another unfortunate injury in Hayward’s career, though it seems as if there’s a bit more to the story this time. Earlier tonight, well before Charania broke the news, Hayward’s wife Robyn posted this on her Instagram story, captioned over a screenshot of Charlotte’s injury report listing him out with a contusion:
Was just about to tweet that Gordon Hayward’s wife posted this on her IG story about his injury https://t.co/ulbztlovFL pic.twitter.com/iihIIHlxtt
— Ryan McDonald (@ryanwmcdonald) November 26, 2022
We’ll obviously find out more in the coming days, but the timing of the post, compounded with the facts that Cody Martin’s quad soreness turned into a knee surgery in a similar fashion and LaMelo Ball returned early from his ankle sprain because Dennis Smith Jr. went down, does make it interesting at the least.
In the meantime, Jalen McDaniels and/or Kelly Oubre Jr. will fill in as starters in his place depending on when Charlotte’s point guards get healthy. The Hornets league-worst offense will sorely miss Hayward’s steadying presence as a connective playmaker and tough shot-maker, especially while Ball is out. Hopefully, given the timing of this injury, Hayward is able to return for a late-season stint.