An MRI on Donovan Mitchell’s right ankle sprain did not reveal any structural damage, but the Utah Jazz goalkeeper is expected to miss several games before being allowed to return, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Mitchell suffered an injury during the third quarter of Friday’s 119-111 victory over the Pacers, when he jumped to try to deflect a long pass and went down stingher under Indiana guard Edmond Sumner. Mitchell immediately took his leg in pain and needed help getting to the locker room, with teammate Royce O’Neale and a coach supporting him.
Sources told Wojnarowski on Friday that Mitchell had a low ankle sprain and that X-rays were negative.
“Obviously we hope it’s nothing serious,” coach Quin Snyder said after Friday’s game, “but I’m in the process of doing everything I can to assess this.”
Mitchell suffered an offensive tear last month, averaging 30.0 points per game in April, with marked outbursts that were not made in Karl Malone’s Jazz uniform. Mitchell had a four-game run, scoring at least 35, with 40 in three of the four games.
The 24-year-old averages the highest careers in his fourth season with 26.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists for Jazz in first place.
Information from ESPN’s Royce Young was used in this report.