Orlando Magic guard Devin Cannady underwent surgery Monday morning to clean out his right ankle after sustaining what turned out to be dislocation and severe sprain during Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Amway Center, the team announced.
Further evaluation revealed no fractures as Cannady’s bones and cartilage remained intact, according to the team. Cannady has been placed in a plaster splint and will be re-evaluated during his rehabilitation and is expected to make a full recovery.
Magic assistant coach Tyrone Corbin, who is handling the head coaching duties while Steve Clifford is in the league’s health and safety protocols with COVID-19, communicated with Cannady via text message Monday afternoon.
“His spirits seem to be great,” Corbin said. “It’s great news to hear that he didn’t actually fracture the bone.”
Cannady contested a layup attempt late in the first quarter by Pacers forward Edmond Sumner and appeared to land awkwardly on his right leg as the two went out of bounds. Cannady immediately grabbed at his leg and then laid on the floor in obvious pain. He was quickly treated by the Magic training staff and medical personnel at Amway.
Cannady gave a thumbs up and applauded to show his appreciation for the support he received from the fans, players, coaches, and staff as he was wheeled off the court on a stretcher. Cannady originally was diagnosed with an open fracture of his ankle.
Cannady was the MVP of the NBA G League Finals as he helped lead Lakeland to win the title in March. He then joined the Magic on a 10-day deal before he was released and re-signed on a two-way contract on April 16. Cannady posted a career-high 17 points last Thursday against the Pelicans.
“He’s a guy that’s a relentless worker,” Magic assistant coach Tyrone Corbin said. “He’s a good person, cares about his teammates and cares about his profession, and would come in every day, work and he’d stay to get some extra work in. He appreciated the opportunity to come back here.
“It’s just really difficult to see it happen to a guy like him, for anybody, first of all, but a good guy like him who worked his tail off to get this opportunity. We’re praying for him.”
Magic forward Robert Franks, who played with Cannady this season in Lakeland, called his injured teammate an outstanding individual who lights up a room when he walks in.
“He’s going to work hard and just a resilient young man,” Franks said about Cannady. “He’s one of the rare people out there that has a smile on his face no matter what, good or bad, and he wakes up to conquer the day and get better.”
Source:-https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-sp-orlando-magic-devin-cannady-injury-20210426-27x26mxqvfcq7ga4oj6hx7dclu-story.html
