Update: Exactly the words I said I did not want to hear. And for anyone who had "jammed toe against basket support" in the pool wins the prize. From WRAL:
North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson jammed his right big toe against a basket support Friday in practice, an injury that could keep him out of the Sunday's Duke game and might linger further into March.
UNC spokesman Steve Kirschner, asked Saturday night if the injury could last into the ACC Tournament and beyond, said, "I would say it could be. You just don't know with this type of injury. It's like turf toe."
"Turf toe" is an injury often sustained by football players that can last for weeks and affect their ability to run. The injury is aggravating for athletes and difficult to resolve.
Kirschner said he has discussed the injury with UNC trainer Chris Hirth.
WRAL spotted Lawson on crutches after Friday's practice, but Kirschner said he could walk Saturday without crutches. Lawson did not practice Saturday.
Kirschner said the injury is to Lawson's right big toe, not his left.
Asked to describe how the injury happened, Kirschner said, "He was running downcourt during a play He was running too fast and he crashed into the basket support and jammed his foot into the basket support.
Gets injured running too fast...well that figures.
Original post after the jump.
Lots of information swirling around but as best as I can gather from looking at multiple sources here is the deal:
Ty Lawson injured the right big toe in practice on Friday. He was given a crutch to take the pressure off. X-rays turned out to be negative. He was then held out of practice on Saturday as a precaution but it is expected he will play against Duke.
Since the toe was not broken you are probably looking at some sort of bruise or tendon issue. My guess is there is probably no damage per se but he is in pain and may have to play through pain. As long as the words "turf toe" are not used this should resolve itself quickly. What I want to know is how did it get injured?