ANTIPOLO - Dequan Jones has suffered an injury similar to the one that shut down NBA star Paul George more than a decade ago.
The NLEX import broke his right leg fibula, dislocated an ankle and fractured an ankle bone during the Road Warriors' PBA Governors' Cup game against TNT on Tuesday night, ruling him out for the team's entire campaign in the conference.
READ Jones the latest player to suffer major injury at Ynares Center
X-rays have confirmed that the 36-year old former NBA player suffered an ankle dislocation with medial malleolar fracture (inner ankle bone) and complete fractured fibula in the accident that marred NLEX's overtime win over TNT on Tuesday night.
Insiders said the injury was as gruesome as the one suffered by George during a Team USA scrimmage in 2014, which resulted in an open compound facture of both the tibia and fibula and kept the NBA star out of action for an entire season.
Jones' ankle has been put back in place on Wednesday morning at the Cardinal Santos hospital but he will need to wait at least a week to hopefully bring down the swelling before full surgery is made on the injured leg.
NLEX team governor Ronald Dulatre visited the American import on Wednesday afternoon, describing Jones as being in high spirits despite no longer capable of finishing what had been a strong start for the Road Warriors.
Dulatre and coach Jimmy Alapag were among the first visitors of Jones after going down with the injury in the game against the Tropang 5G which the Road Warriors won in overtime, 118-111.
After surgery, Jones will be undergoing therapy and rehabilitation and is expected to be out of action at least for five months.
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