The Miami Heat hope that Jimmy Butler’s ankle injury suffered in Monday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors won’t keep the star forward sidelined for long.
“In the wake of Jimmy Butler rolling his right ankle for the second time in four weeks, the initial hope is that the Miami Heat forward could be back in the mix by the end of the week, a source familiar with the situation told the Sun Sentinel on Tuesday,” wrote Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
Butler has gone down with an ankle injury twice now in the last four weeks. Butler finished with 22 points in the loss to the Warriors on Monday to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
The Heat forward has missed 15 games so far this season. He is averaging 23.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game for Miami this season. Butler’s injury woes are just one of many the Heat have had to deal with this season.
Miami was missing numerous players for its matchup against the Warriors. The Heat wound up losing the game 115-108.
A number of Miami players remain in health and safety protocols, including Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent and Udonis Haslem. The Heat have handled adversity well, managing to still hold a 23-15 record on the season.
The Heat are back in action on Wednesday with a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers before heading to face the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. Miami is hopeful that its star player will be available for its weekend matchup.