Blake Griffin breaks hand punching equipment manager and friend, LA Clippers NBA star sidelined

LA Clippers NBA superstar Blake Griffin faces another injury layoff after a wild incident within his team and the bosses are not happy.

FILE - This is a Jan. 13, 2016, file photo showing Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin on the bench during the first half of an NBA game against the Miami Heat, in Los Angeles. Blake Griffin hurt his hand in an altercation with a member of the Los Angeles Clippers' staff on the team's current road trip and will be sidelined just as he was nearing a return from another injury. Coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, that the team would be releasing a statement about the incident and that it would be addressed more fully before the Clippers' evening game in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)

LOS Angeles Clippers all-star forward Blake Griffin faces another lay-off after suffering a fractured hand during a fight, the team confirmed on Wednesday.

Griffin is reported to have suffered the injury after throwing a punch at a member of the Clippers equipment staff in Toronto last weekend. US reports have identified the staffer as equipment manager Matias Testi, a good friend of Griffin’s, saying the pair had an argument at a restaurant before the altercation.

Griffin will reportedly be out of action for four-to-six weeks thanks to the incident.

A team statement confirmed Griffin’s injury and said an investigation into the circumstances of the incident was under way.

“LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin suffered a spiral fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand throwing a punch on Jan. 23 in Toronto,” the Clippers said.

“This conduct has no place in our organization and this incident does not represent who we are as a team.

“We are conducting a full investigation with assistance from the NBA. At the conclusion of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken.”

Blake Griffin doing what he does best for the Clippers.

Griffin has not played since suffering a torn quadriceps tendon in late December.

The injury means Griffin now faces a further absence of several weeks, possibly ruling him out of next month’s all-star game.

It is not the first time Griffin has found himself in hot water over a physical altercation.

In 2014 he was accused of slapping a man at a Las Vegas nightclub who had taken a picture of him with a cellphone.

He was accused of misdemeanour battery but the charges were eventually dropped by Nevada prosecutors.

Originally published as Blake Griffin breaks hand punching equipment manager and friend, LA Clippers NBA star sidelined