Mitch McCarron knee injury prompts Melbourne United to consider resting star guard
Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman has revealed star guard Mitch McCarron will be managed through to the end of the season with “damage” in his knee.
Melbourne United
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Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman has revealed Mitch McCarron will be managed through to the end of the season with “damage” in his knee.
With the defending NBL champions slated for three consecutive double-header weekends Vickerman couldn’t rule out the prospect of McCarron being rested in the run to the finals.
McCarron trained on Wednesday with his left knee tightly strapped and was in and out of match simulation drills at the end of the two-hour session.
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“There’s a little bit of damage in that knee,” Vickerman said.
“But we think we can manage him through the season.”
The ex-Cairns Taipan McCarron has played all 22 games for Melbourne this season, averaging 11.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in a hybrid guard-forward role.
He pulled up sore following the win over Illawarra Hawks a fortnight ago but still had an impact against Adelaide 36ers last week.
“Coming off that (36ers) game it swelled up a little bit … so we just wanted to make sure it came down really quickly,” Vickerman said.
“That’s (swelling) going to be one of the indicators of the irritation.
“It’s been scanned so it’s all systems go right now to have him managed through the season.”
The NBL sanctioned 36ers “development player” Bijan Johnson for instigating last Monday night’s sideline spat with United players following Adelaide’s loss.
Tempers flared after the fiery youngster, fined a total of $1150 for two charges of “unduly rough play”, pushed McCarron and DJ Kennedy as the teams lined up to shake hands.
Vickerman wouldn’t be drawn on the incident.
“We reviewed it on video and saw some pushes from a development player and don’t quite understand what it was all about,” Vickerman said.
“As a group we huddled well and got ourselves out of the situation.”
United will face off against the Breakers in New Zealand on Friday night before the return leg in Melbourne on Sunday.
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