Heel Injury Might Sideline Blazers' Roy Until Regular Season

When Brandon Roy hurt his left heel in practice Tuesday, it didn't just cost the reigning Rookie of the Year a chance to participate in the Trail Blazers' first practice, it might have cost him a chance to play in the preseason.

Coach Nate McMillan on Wednesday said he is leaning toward holding Roy out of the Blazers' eight preseason games in order to have his star player ready for the Oct. 30 season opener at San Antonio.

"Right now, my thought is he won't play in the preseason," McMillan said. "(The preseason schedule) is not important. What is important is that we have him for the season."

Roy, who missed 20 of the Blazers' first 25 games last season with the same heel injury, said McMillan informed him of his preseason plan Tuesday. But Roy said he thinks he can sweet talk his coach into squeezing him into at least one of the eight preseason contests.

"He sounded firm with me about it, but that was (Tuesday)," Roy said. "I think we will talk about it. I don't want to go into San Antonio and have it be my first game. I definitely want to get some run in and get a rhythm of being on the floor."

Roy said he felt a sharp pain in his heel as he was completing a fast break layup in the opening moments of the Blazers' first practice. He was immediately removed from practice and given a magnetic resonance imaging test. The test revealed no major problems, but indicated an irritation caused by the talus bone in his heel. Last season, Roy was diagnosed with an abnormally long talus bone, which at times causes pinched nerves in the foot.

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source : blog.oregonlive.com