Suns star Devin Booker has been diagnosed with a right hip strain and will be out at least one week, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link via Law Murray of The Athletic).
Booker suffered the injury in Thursday’s loss to San Antonio. The 29-year-old shooting guard went to the locker room midway through the first quarter and attempted to return late in the second quarter before being ruled out for the second half.
Injuries have been an issue as of late for Booker, who missed eight of 10 games prior to the All-Star break due to a right ankle sprain. He’s likely to miss at least four more games as a result of the hip strain, which would increase his season-long total to 16. That’s noteworthy, because Booker needs to play at least 65 contests to qualify for major postseason awards.
Booker has averaged 24.7 points, 6.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds on .454/.308/.861 shooting in 44 games this season (33.3 minutes per contest). Phoenix is 27-17 when Booker plays this season but has gone just 5-7 without the team’s best player.
The Suns also provided an injury update on Haywood Highsmith, who recently signed a two-year deal with Phoenix. While the 6’5″ forward is progressing from offseason knee surgery, he will continue to rehabilitate and will be checked out again in two-to-three weeks. That echoes recent reporting from John Gambadoro, who said Highsmith was at least a few weeks away from making his Suns (and season) debut.