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Sixers' Jerryd Bayless out indefinitely with left wrist injury

Bayless' wrist remains swollen four days after injuring it against Indiana Pacers

Sixers guard Jerryd Bayless drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (left) and Pacers forward Thaddeus Young.
Sixers guard Jerryd Bayless drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (left) and Pacers forward Thaddeus Young.Read more(Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
    by Keith Pompey | Columnist
    Published 

SALT LAKE CITY – There's some good and bad news surrounding Jerryd Bayless' injured left wrist.

The good news is the injury is not affiliated with the left wrist torn ligaments the 76ers guard that cut last season short. The bad news is he's out indefinitely, because the swelling has not gone down on the wrist he bruised Friday.

He'll miss Tuesday's game at the Utah Jazz and Thursday's matchup at the Sacramento Kings. The team will evaluate him before Saturday's matchup against the Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

"After that, we can talk more candidly," coach Brett Brown said. "Right now, we are sort of just playing it by ear."

Brown is influenced by Bayless' desire to get back on the court.

"But right now, to stamp off on how soon he'll be available, we don't know that yet," he said.

The 29-year-old suffered the injury while attempting to fight through a screen with one minute, 53 seconds left in Friday night's victory over the Indiana Pacers. X-rays following the game were negative. However, his discomfort continues, leading to MRI and CT scans on Monday.

"It could be something old," said Bayless, who had a left-wrist injury in high school. "But it's not even [that]. It just hurts from when I fell. I fell directly on it, and my wrist swelled up from that."

He's focused on trying to reduce the swelling in order to get back on the court. Bayless is hopeful to return soon.

The 10-year veteran doesn't want to give a definite timeline.

Bayless had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his wrist on Dec. 15, thus ending his 2016-17 campaign.

The injury sidelined him the first 13 games. A free-agent addition in July 2017, he made his Sixers debut on Nov. 21, 2016 in a victory over the Miami Heat.

In the next game, against the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 23, he fell several times to the floor, impacting his wrist. Despite the pain, Bayless made his long-awaited first start against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 25. He experienced soreness throughout the game and has not played the rest of that season.

Bayless is averaging 11 points this season.