Injury update: Achiuwa sidelined indefinitely with partial ligament tears in ankle

The Toronto Raptors announced on Thursday that Previous Achiuwa will be sidelined indefinitely with what has been diagnosed as “partial tears in ligaments in his right ankle.”

Achiuwa will wear a walking boot for 10 days and be re-evaluated.

The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s home game against the Houston Rockets. Achiuwa drove to the basket from the left side of the floor, met Usman Garuba at the rim, and landed awkwardly on his right leg.

He limped off the floor but had to be helped back to the locker room, unable to put any weight on the leg.

The injury is unfortunate on several fronts, beyond just being a shitty situation for any player to be in. For one, the Raptors are already shorthanded in the front court, with Pascal Siakam on the sidelines with a groin injury, and Khem Birch also in street clothes nursing a sore knee. For Achiuwa himself, he’s had a pretty slow start to the season, despite high expectations after a phenomenal second half of the 2021-22 season, where he averaged 12.2 points on 46% shooting (39% from downtown) and 5.7 rebounds in 24 minutes a night after the All-Star break. More than the the numbers, though, Precious looked confident, comfortable, in perhaps most importantly — in control. He was letting the game come to him rather than trying to force his offense.

But as Nick Nurse himself said prior to Wednesday’s game, Achiuwa wasn’t playing as well, or as consistently, as the team needs him to so far this season. He’s averaging 8.8 points (on just 39% shooting, and less than 20% from deep) and 7 rebounds.

That doesn’t mean he’s still not an important contributor — the dude did have a 22-rebound game, after all — but the promise of that post-All-Star break hasn’t yet been fulfilled.

And now it looks like it won’t be for a little while. Hopefully the injury isn’t as severe as it sounds and Achiuwa can make a quick return, and hopefully he’ll be able to elevate his game as well.