MILWAUKEE — Each of the past three days has offered a burst of bad injury news for Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut.
On Friday -- one day after an MRI revealed a fractured bone in his left ankle and two days after he fell to the floor with what appeared to be a sprain -- the Bucks learned the timetable for Bogut's recovery: eight to 12 weeks.
Bogut was injured late in the first quarter of the Bucks' 105-99 victory at Houston. He was attempting to block a shot by the Rockets' Kyle Lowry and landed on Lowry's foot. Team trainer Marc Boff helped Bogut limp off the court.
After the game, Bogut was wearing a boot on his left ankle, but the center said X-rays showed there were no broken bones.
"It wasn't good," Bogut told reporters after the game. "I knew when I came down I was in some trouble. Keeping optimistic, everything's fine with the X-ray, but that's to be expected. . . . "
He called the injury "frustrating," long before he received the results of the MRI.
"With my history of unlucky injuries, I'm hoping this one can do me a favor and (go away)," Bogut said. "Most of my injuries are unfortunate things, and this goes in the same boat as that. It's frustrating."
It's been a disappointing season for Bogut, who had reported to training camp in his best shape in recent memory.
He missed the final four games of Milwaukee's five-game West Coast trip because of an undisclosed family situation that forced him to return to his native Australia for a week. Upon his return, Bogut was slow to shake off the rust and then missed a Jan. 13 game at Dallas after failing a concussion test, a result of a fall the night before.
Milwaukee is 0-5 this season in games Bogut did not play, but the Bucks did rally for the victory in his absence Wednesday.
In 12 games, he's averaging 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocked shots and 30.3 minutes per game.
