Gordon Hayward out indefinitely with fractured shoulder, which his wife said the Hornets had him play through
Gordon Hayward sustaining a major injury isn't a shocking development at this point, but his wife going after the Charlotte Hornets for allegedly mishandling his health could raise a few eyebrows.
The Hornets forward's day began with the team ruling him out for Friday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with what it called a shoulder contusion. The injury was apparently the same one that caused him to miss eight games earlier this month, but he had since returned and played in three games.
That last game had been a rough one, with Hayward posting seven points on 3-of-10 shooting with two rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.
Robyn Hayward, the player's wife, opted to react by posting a screenshot of the Hornets' official injury report with the contusion line and reveal what she claimed to be the real story: Hayward had sustained a fractured left scapula, aka. the shoulder blade, and the Hornets had him play through it.
She sounded quite frustrated with how the team had been treating her husband, saying the team had failed to protect not just Gordon, but other players as well.
Robyn Hayward spills the tea on the Hornets
The full text of Hayward's Instagram statement:
He actually has a fractured scapula..... that they had him play with last game... that's why he couldn't move his arm up in the last game.....everyone who knows Gordon knows he has one goal and that's to win and play the right way, he's the most truthful player/person you'd find. If he's not gonna play it's for something more than a bruise....
I'm gonna stop there and not get into prior things.
Hayward did not stop there.
Just to clarify - since the team doesn't say. It's a fracture in the shoulder. Which is a broken bone. I'm over them not protecting players. Just was talking with a young players mom and she was saying the same thing....
About an hour later, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Hayward will be sidelined indefinitely with a fractured left shoulder.
Sources: Charlotte’s Gordon Hayward will be sidelined indefinitely due to a fracture in his left shoulder. Hornets expect Hayward to miss time and he is undergoing further evaluations.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 26, 2022
Regardless of the circumstances, a fractured shoulder is a brutal turn of events for a player very familiar with brutal turns of events.
Hornets' Gordon Hayward sustains another injury
Since leaving the Utah Jazz in 2017, Hayward has sustained a fractured tibia, a fractured hand, an ankle sprain, another ankle sprain, a broken finger, a foot injury that required a cast and now this, plus a sojourn into the concussion protocol.
There might not be a more snakebitten player in the NBA, which is rough for both Hayward and the team that signed him to a four-year, $120 million contract in 2020.
In three seasons with the Hornets, Hayward has played in 104 games total and averaged 17.5 points on 46.4 percent shooting (40.0 percent from deep), 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He is still an effective player on the court, he just hasn't been able to stay on the court.
