Toronto Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas has reportedly decided against surgery and will instead rehab his injured left hand keeping him out for about six weeks, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports.
The young big man was forced out of Friday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers when he was fouled by Kobe Bryant during a roll to the basket. He suffered a fractured fourth metacarpal on the play, the same injury he suffered to his right hand that kept him out of 18 games during the 2012-13 season.
After signing a contract extension over the summer, Valanciunas is averaging 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game on 55.6 per cent shooting.
With their starting centre temporarily on the shelf, the Raptors have recalled Lucas Nogueira from Raptors 905 to help fill the void in the frontcourt.
https://twitter.com/RaptorsMR/status/668224894971199489
There is no official word on how long Valanciunas will be out of action.
