Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu will be sidelined “for the foreseeable future” with a left big toe sprain, head coach Quin Snyder said on Thursday, per Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
“I don’t want to speak out of turn as far as a timeline goes, but he’s not going to be available for the foreseeable future,” Synder said (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks).
Okongwu had only missed one game this season prior to last Monday’s loss to Chicago, which is when he sustained the injury. Unfortunately, it sounds like he could miss a good deal of time.
The 23-year-old played one college season at USC before being selected sixth overall by Atlanta in 2020. Okongwu is a key reserve for the Hawks, averaging 10.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.1 BPG on .610/.338/.800 shooting in 53 games this season (25.8 MPG).
Snyder also said starting center Clint Capela will be back in action on Friday vs. Toronto after dealing with a left adductor strain. However, the Swiss big man will be on a minutes restriction. Capela had missed the past six games with the injury, with Feb. 3 being his last appearance.
With Okongu out, the Hawks will likely continue to lean on Jalen Johnson and Bruno Fernando for minutes at the backup five spot.
The Hawks are currently 24-31, the No. 10 seed in the East.
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