Two days after Toronto Raptor Jonas Valanciunas broke a bone on his left hand, the Lithuanian center opted to just under rehabilitation instead of going through the knife.
The 23-year-old fourth year center of the Raptors suffered a fractured fourth metacarpal on his left hand. After undergoing some tests, Valanciunas decided to just undergo rehabilitation.
The 7-foot center was able to chip in three points in his 18 minutes of action in their game last Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers before the injury off a foul by Kobe Bryant just before the end of the first half of action.
Toronto eventually won the game to arrest their three-game skid, 102-91, over the LA Lakers. They improved their record to 8-6, while the Lakers dropped to 2-10.
During his rookie season in the NBA, Valanciunas had suffered the same injury, but on his right hand. The injury forced him to miss 18 games.
Teammate Kyle Lowry expressed that it was unfortunate, and that they’ll miss the services and numbers of Valanciunas.
The four-year veteran is Toronto’s third-leading scorer and best rebounder as he averages 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds so far this season.
Bismack Biyombo filled in the shoes of Valanciunas in the second half of their game against the Lakers. The 23-year-old native of Congo is expected to play major minutes in their succeeding games as Valanciunas undergo rehabilitation.
Biyombo was the 7th overall draft pick by Sacramento in 2011 before he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets before landing in the Toronto lineup.
The Raptors will be up against the LA Clippers on Sunday in a road game. Bannered by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Paul Pierce, the Clippers are currently at the seventh spot with a 6-6 slate.
Valanciunas just signed a fresh four-year deal with the Raptors to kick off the 2015-2016 season.
The post Jonas Valanciunas to undergo rehab instead of surgery appeared first on Sports Rageous - Best sports news on the web.