suns protection Collin Gillespie The team announced in a press release today that he was diagnosed with a fracture in his right ankle (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic).

According to the Suns, Gillespie will be re-evaluated in four weeks. That doesn’t mean he’ll be ready to return at that point; It just means that he will be examined at that moment.

Gillespie, who is on a two-way contract with Phoenix, has appeared in just one NBA game so far this season, logging 3:26 of the game in a win over Dallas on Oct. 26. He was injured just two minutes after making his debut for the Valley Suns in the G League season opener on Friday.

The Suns initially attributed Gillespie’s injury to a sprain, but Valley Suns coach John Little He said on Monday that the 25-year-old was still undergoing tests to determine the severity of the injury (Twitter video link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports).

Gillespie’s absence won’t have a real impact on the Suns’ NBA rotation as there were several players ahead of him on the depth chart, but it was an unfortunate development for a young player who had already lost a full season due to injury. . The former Villanova standout missed his entire rookie season in 2022/23 as a two-way player for the Nuggets after suffering a broken lower leg while helping out. An application from the school he graduated from.