Pure devastation for Joe Ingles as extent of serious injury revealed

The news keeps getting worse for Aussie NBA star Joe Ingles, whose teammates were distressed after he went down in absolute agony.

Joe Ingles will miss the rest of the NBA season after it was confirmed he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Monday.

The Aussie basketball star went down screaming in agony during Utah’s 106-126 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, sparking distressing scenes as teammates gathered around in concern and the stadium went quiet.

Watch the 21/22 NBA Season with ESPN on Kayo. Live coverage every week plus every game of the NBA Finals. New to Kayo? Start your free trial >

Ingles required assistance to leave the court and was cheered on by the rival crowd as he exited the game.

On Tuesday morning ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported Ingles will “need to get a range of motion back in his left knee before surgery and that could take more than two weeks, but it’s a fluid timeline”.

“Recovery and a return to play will certainly extend into the 2022-2023 season.”

In a statement released by the Jazz, the franchise said an MRI “revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with no other structural damage”.

“Ingles will remain out indefinitely with surgery taking place in the next several weeks,” Utah added.

Ingles, 34, is in the final year of his $AUD18 million contract with the Jazz and the injury puts his career in jeopardy. Athletes typically require approximately 12 months to come back from ACL injuries.

One of the heroes of Australia’s bronze medal-winning Olympic campaign in Tokyo, Ingles is averaging 7.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Jazz this season.

Ingles was in agony. Image: Getty/ESPN

Until now, Ingles has escaped serious injury throughout his NBA career, notably stringing together 418 consecutive games between 2015 and 2021.

But his breakdown capped off a dismal day for the Jazz. As coach Quin Snyder watched on from Covid isolation, the side dropped its fifth game on the trot. Utah has now won just two of its last 13 matches but remains in fourth place on the table, thanks to its strong start to the season.

Ingles’ Jazz teammates were left devastated by his injury.

“That took a lot out of the guys, seeing him, tears in his eyes,” said Mike Conley, “You know how much this means to him.

“You just pray for Joe and hope that it’s as minimal as possible and that he recovers as quickly as possible.”

Conley said Ingles was in a “tough state” at halftime when his teammates visited him in the dressing rooms.

“Everybody came in there, told him we loved him, gave him a hug,” he said.

With Jasper Bruce, NCA NewsWire

Originally published as Pure devastation for Joe Ingles as extent of serious injury revealed