The Milwaukee Bucks season took a devastating turn on Friday night as superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a recurring right calf injury, during a 102–100 loss to the Denver Nuggets in their NBA contest.
Speaking to reporters after the game, the two-time MVP was candid about the severity of the setback, stating he expects to be sidelined for four to six weeks.
“After the MRI, they will tell me, probably, I popped something in my calf on my soleus or something,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is from my experience being around the NBA. After that, I’m going to work my butt off to come back.”
“That will probably be the end of February, beginning of March. Hopefully the team plays (well enough) that we can at least make the play-in or the playoffs. Just take it day by day, get better,” he added.
Antetokounmpo got hurt in the first quarter on Friday, exited briefly and came back to play a total of 32 minutes, compiling team-high totals of 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
However, Antetokounmpo left the game for good with 34.2 seconds remaining after he came up limping in transition. The Bucks trailed the Nuggets 99-94 at the time and wound up losing 102-100.
“I was feeling it majority of the game but did not want to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said. “But at the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop.”
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said of allowing Antetokounmpo to continue playing after the first-quarter issue, “I asked our (medical) team five different times. I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally. Giannis was defiant about staying in.”
Antetokounmpo, 31, is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists through 30 games this season.
A nine-time All-Star, two-time Most Valuable Player and a 2021 NBA champion, Antetokounmpo owns career averages of 24.0 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 889 games over 13 seasons.