Brandon Ingram injury will delay his Clippers debut after Kawhi Leonard trade

Los Angeles Clippers forward Brandon Ingram, the marquee player returned in the Kawhi Leonard trade to the Toronto Raptors, won’t be ready to make his debut with his new team at the start of the season.

The Clippers announced Monday, Sept. 28 at the team’s media day that Ingram was dealing with a partially torn left Achilles tendon, which was revealed during a May surgery to repair an issue with his heel. Clippers interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden disclosed the injury to reporters assembled on site.

Advertisement

The recovery for a partially torn Achilles is not as intensive as one for a full tear and should be around six months.

That timeline puts Ingram being available potentially around late October or November, should he not suffer any setbacks. Ingram will be reevaluated then and the team will make a determination at that time.

Raptors forward Brandon Ingram goes to the basket against Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half of Game 2 of the first round NBA playoff series at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on April 20, 2026.

Ingram, 29, played 77 regular-season games last year for the Raptors, averaging 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists. But Ingram’s heel injury prevented him from being fully available during Toronto’s first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ingram played only 11:22 during Game 5 and then missed Games 6 and 7, when Cleveland clinched the series.

Advertisement

Although the trade for Ingram had been agreed to June 30, the investigation into Leonard and the Clippers about salary cap circumvention had not been finalized. The trade remained on hold for more than a month and was eventually executed Sept. 14.

The Clippers open their season Oct. 21 at home against the Sacramento Kings.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brandon Ingram injury will delay his Clippers debut after Kawhi Leonard trade

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/brandon-ingram-injury-delay-clippers-191918815.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-09-28 19:19:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.