National Basketball Association

Portland F Batum re-injures shoulder

Published Apr. 23, 2010 4:33 a.m. ET

foxsports

Portland forward Nicolas Batum re-injured his right shoulder late in the first half of the Trail Blazers' playoff game against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

Batum originally hurt his shoulder in Portland's 119-90 loss Tuesday night in Game 2 of the series. He was questionable going into Game 3, but started.

He appeared to hurt his shoulder when he was fouled by Jason Richardson. The team said Batum would not return.

The injury was of concern because Batum, the team's primary perimeter defender, had surgery on the shoulder just before the opener and missed the first 45 games of the season.

The Blazers are already thin because of injuries. All-Star guard Brandon Roy tore the meniscus in his right knee and had arthroscopic surgery two days before the playoffs started.