Bucks GM clarifies Bledsoe's injury, says timetable depends on pain tolerance
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe is expected to be sidelined for the next two-to-three weeks after suffering a small fracture in his rib, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.
But Bucks general manager Jon Horst refuted the reported specifics of Bledsoe's injury later Friday. Horst said Bledsoe actually fractured the cartilage between two of his ribs and could theoretically return sooner than the two-week timetable if he can tolerate the pain, according to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Bucks will open their regular season against the Houston Rockets on Oct. 24, which is just under two weeks away.
Bledsoe left in the second quarter of Milwaukee's preseason win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday with what was initially diagnosed as an oblique strain. At the time, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer didn't believe the injury was serious.
"It feels like it's not that severe," Budenholzer told Velazquez postgame. "But I'm sure Troy (Flanagan, the team's director of performance) and those guys will give me an update. ... Just talking to Bled (it seemed positive) - I don't know if you can trust Bled. Troy will be the truth-teller."
Bledsoe has been the Bucks' starting point guard since he was acquired from the Phoenix Suns in 2017. He averaged 15.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.6 rebounds last season and helped Milwaukee reach the Eastern Conference finals.
The 29-year-old signed a four-year contract extension worth $70 million in March.