Heat guard Tyler Johnson taken off court in wheelchair after knee injury
Hopefully Johnson’s injury isn’t as severe as it looks.
Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson was wheeled off the court with a knee injury suffered during Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. It was a terrible sign for the 25-year-old, who has spent all four years of his career in Miami.
Johnson suffered the injury after coming down awkwardly on a drive into the lane. It certainly looked serious when it happened on the court. The team is calling the injury a left ankle sprain, and x-rays came back negative.
Players reacted seriously when it happened, and Johnson stayed down for several minutes.
Looking at Tyler Johnson's left knee at the moment. Testing the kneecap at the moment.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) January 15, 2018
Tyler Johnson is down after that layup. Not sure if his knee buckled but he hasn’t moved since going down. Whole team around him, gathered
— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) January 15, 2018
The kneecap test is typically used to determine whether a player suffered an ACL tear, which is the immediate concern for an injury of this severity. Hopefully, it’s not as severe as that, but it didn’t look good when the Heat had to cart Johnson off the floor in a wheelchair with his leg immobilized.
Johnson is averaging 12 points on 43 percent shooting this season, as well as 2.1 assists per game, although his numbers are generally lower than last year’s breakout season. Still, he’s an important part of an overachieving Miami Heat team, one that also just lost Dion Waiters for the year.
Hopefully Johnson’s injury isn’t as severe as it looks.