In case you have been far away from all your social networks, Indiana Pacers’ star guard/forward Paul George suffered a gruesome leg injury during a Team USA scrimmage last night (Aug. 1). After hitting the basket stanchion during a fastbreak, George suffered a open tibia-fibula fracture in his right leg. An outpouring of support from fans and fellow players who caught wind of the disturbing footage soon followed. The 24-year-old baller underwent surgery following his injury in Las Vegas. Pacers’ president and basketball legend Larry Bird issued a statement today (Aug. 2) regarding the unfortunate turn of events: “Our first thoughts are with Paul and his family. It is way too early to speculate on his return as the No. 1 priority for everyone will be his recovery. Our initial discussions with our doctors and the doctors in Las Vegas have us very optimistic. We are hopeful at some point next week Paul will return to Indianapolis to continue his recovery. “There is no question about the impact on our team but our goal is to be as strong-willed and determined as Paul will be in coming back. Our franchise has had setbacks in its history but has demonstrated the abilities to recover. Paul will provide the example of that off the court and it is up to the rest of us to provide that example on the court. Any discussion regarding the future of our team would be inappropriate at this time. Our focus is solely on Paul and doing whatever we can to help. ”We still support USA Basketball and believe in the NBA’s goals of exposing our game, our teams and players worldwide. This is an extremely unfortunate injury that occurred on a highly-visible stage, but could also have occurred anytime, anywhere. “Finally, the Pacers would like to thank our fans and the NBA community for their outreach of support in the brief amount of time since the injury occurred. It has been overwhelming and it is what makes Indiana and the NBA special.” George also took to Twitter to thank everyone for their support. In positive spirits, he vowed to return to the game “better than ever.”
Thanks everybody for the love and support.. I’ll be ok and be back better than ever!!! Love y’all!! #YoungTrece
— Paul George (@Paul_George24) August 2, 2014