UPDATE #2: More information via ESPN which casts a brighter picture.
“He’ll be ok,” Hansbrough’s father, Gene, told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz. “His leg’s been bothering him for a couple of weeks. It’s a stress reaction and he needs to rest a bit. He just needs time to let it heal. There is no reason for him to limp through it.”
According to ESPN medical analysist Dr. Michael Kaplan, the MRI likely showed increased uptake in tibia (leg bone) suggesting a stress reaction. An overload or overuse type phenomenon occurs with inflammation and, ultimately, fatigue failure with stress fracture. This is a precursor condition to stress fracture. A period of rest is mandatory for tissues to quiet down or worsening injury will result.
The school issued a statement saying there is no timetable for his return and no further information on the injury was available. Coach Roy Williams said he would have no comment until Friday after he meets with Hansbrough and the medical staff.
“I expect he’ll be healthy and play [this season],” Gene Hansbrough said. “It’s still to early to tell. They don’t even have an exhibition for a week.”
Hansbrough played in all 108 games during his previous three seasons at North Carolina, and has two weeks to heal before the Nov. 15 season opener against Pennsylvania if he is to keep that streak intact.
“He understands the big picture,” Gene Hansbrough said. “He knows he has to get well and be 100 percent to help the team.”
Gene Hansbrough told Katz that Tyler’s shin started to bother him a couple of weeks ago. “But it got worse. It doesn’t hurt when he walks on it. I just hope he recovers soon,” Gene Hansbrough said.
Jay Bilas was at UNC’s practice in indicated it was more precautionary than anything else and Hansbrough should recover as quickly as a week or maybe longer. Bilas said he did not think it would be a long term issue and even saw it as an opportunity for other players, such as Deon Thompson, to step up in practice and get better.
Original post and updates after the jump
UPDATE: ACC Now talked to Tyler’s father Gene Hansbrough who is also an orthopedic surgeon. The elder Hansbrough downplayed the injury saying “I think he’ll get well pretty quick…These things happen, and he’ll be all right.”
Because UNC has announced Tyler Hansbrough will sit out of practice indefinitely with a stress reaction in his leg.
First question, what the heck is a stress reaction? A quick Google of the term tells me very little. I am speculating that it is the early stages of a stress fracture which required an MRI to see. Since these types of injuries can only be healed with complete rest, Hansbrough will be pulled off the practice floor and probably spend time on the stationary bike.
Second question, how big a problem will this be? It could ultimately be nothing especially since there is still some time for Hansbrough to rest his leg and get healthy. Conceivably Hansbrough could be held out all the way until the Santa Barbara game on November 21st. Penn should not be a problem without him but Kentucky might be though I still think UNC has enough weapons to win that game even with Hansbrough out.
The main point here is there is plenty of time to get Hansbrough healthy because the only thing that matters is six games in March/April. So take your time fellas. Get well. The team can manage though November and December well enough. Just be ready to go come January because the conference season is where things gel for a national title run.
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Oh my goodness! It is time for Deon & Ed Davis to get ready to roll. I sure hate that Tyler has to go through this, especially it being his senior season. Hopefully he will get better & be in perfect shape before draft. I want to see him duely rewarded for all of his services to college basketball. Ed Davis will get more than 2-3 minutes a game now. Same can be said for Zeller. Maybe if things pan out really well, we could have Tyler back for the NCAA championship games. Good luck Tyler!!!!
OH NO! This is Horrible. POOP.
I’m certainly no doctor, but I think a stress reaction is what we always called a “hot spot”. In the shin area it might have also been called a pretty severe shin splint before MRI’s. The pain and soreness is the body’s way of indicating a weakening or damaging of the bone and/or the surrounding tissue and structures in the affected area. Is this not what Marcus played through last year with his foot and ultimately led to his surgery? Also I think “Q” had problems of this sort throughout his career that sidelined him several times. Hopefully they’ve caught this early enough that rest and therapy will be all that is necessary to get him back reasonably soon. As tough as Tyler is, I wonder how long he’s had this pain issue and not said a lot about it?
AH,
Apparently, it had been bothering him for a couple of weeks, but it just recently got worse, which is pretty typical of these injuries (personal experience, not an MD).
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3674076&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines
Also, the Bilas interview is pretty interesting (embedded in previous link).
I think this is a dicey situation. Is it two weeks, or more like 4-6 weeks? Only time will tell and we’ll see how the leg reacts to rest and treatment. As Bilas noted in his phone interview, it could be a good thing if its helps Thompson, Zeller, Davis, etc., get more time and they step up and answer the call. If it drags on, though, like Lawson’s injury last year, or it nags him all season, I think it’s tough on the team not knowing if/when/how much Tyler can play. It’s really too bad in light of the Seth Davis/SI observations, since it sounded like Tyler was ready to showcase some massive improvement from last year. I selfishly hope he’s ready to go in Maui since I’ll be there watching!
As I said in the updates the concern level does not appear to be that high. Jay Bilas is in Chapel Hill and thought it could be as little as a week, maybe more but when he returns no big deal. Gene Hansbrough, who is a ortho surgeon, does not think it is a major problem. There is no fracture and all they saw was inflammation and fatigue. Once he rests and they calm the inflammation down, he should be ready to go.
A trip from Minny to Maui in late November must have been a tough sell!!
I have to admit, as a life long New Yorker, a trip to the Maui Inv. has always been way up on my list of things to do!
Let him rest a month. If it takes somewhat longer than that, so be it. We need to keep our eyes on the prize, which is not an undefeated season. It’s (1) doing what is best for his long-term health; (2) winning the ACC regular season; (3) winning the ACC Tournament; and (4) winning the national championship.
The regular season doesn’t start until January. It’s still October (although just barely). I have not heard or seen anything suggesting that he will be at anything less than 100% if he can be patient. That will be difficult for him — he was, after all, the guy who wanted to play (and did play) without a facemask even though he had a broken nose — but he almost surely knows that this is what he has to do.
I’m not worried about residual effects. The guy is 22 years old and strong as an ox. Medical difficulties like this are routinely overcome by people who don’t approach his overall health and resilience.
So be of good cheer Carolina fans. In the meantime: Mr. Zeller, hit the weight room! Your hour has arrived sooner than expected. But you have what it takes, or Roy wouldn’t have recruited you.
It is really good that his dad specializes in bone injuries.
I’d just like to say “crap”.