The Atlanta Hawks will have the services of their star guard in a win-or-go-home Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. According to Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Trae Young will return to the team in front of their hometown crowd despite the foot injury that has held him out of the last two games.
Hawks star Trae Young will play in Game 6 tonight vs. Milwaukee, sources tell @wojespn and me. Young missed the last two games with a bone bruise in his right foot.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) July 3, 2021
Shortly after, the Hawks made it official.
An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tonight’s game vs. Milwaukee:
Trae Young (right foot bone bruise): Available
Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee soreness): AvailableBrandon Goodwin (minor respiratory condition): Out
De’Andre Hunter (right meniscus surgery): Out pic.twitter.com/jBUOzgdWxG— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 3, 2021
Young suffered in the third quarter of Game 3 in the series. While trying to run back on defense, Young accidentally stepped on a referee’s foot, and went down with what looked like an ankle injury. He was able to come back into the game after getting examined in the back, but he very obviously did not look like himself.
He was ultimately diagnosed with a bone bruise in his foot, and in each of the last two games, Young has been ruled out. Atlanta has managed to split Games 4 and 5, due in part to the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been out with an injury of his own — the two-time league MVP hyperextended his knee in Game 4, which the Hawks won, and missed Game 5, which the Bucks won. Antetokounmpo had already been ruled out of Game 6.
Despite this being the first postseason of his NBA career, Young has been a revelation, averaging 29.8 points and 9.5 assists a night. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.
