Spurs’ Carter Bryant exits preseason loss at Phoenix with right ankle injury

San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant rolled his right ankle in Saturday’s preseason game at Phoenix and did not come back, leaving the Spurs to wait on word about a second-year wing they are counting on to take a bigger role this season.

The play came in the first half of a 102-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Bryant was guarding Jalen Green when a screen forced a switch, and as Devin Vassell moved over to pick up Green, Bryant came down on his teammate’s foot. He limped through the rest of the trip, headed to the locker room, and the team later ruled him out for the remainder of the night. Stephon Castle took his place on the floor.

Coach Mitch Johnson said after the game that he did not yet have details, explaining only that Bryant “stepped on Devin’s foot” and that he hoped the forward was fine.

The Spurs have not released a diagnosis or said whether Bryant had imaging, and his status for Monday’s game in Utah is unknown. Jeff McDonald, the Spurs beat writer for the Express-News in San Antonio, wrote that he does not believe the injury is serious and that keeping Bryant out of the second half looked like caution on the club’s part. That is McDonald’s reading, not an update from the team.

Bryant logged 9:41 before the injury and finished with a block and no points. The full box score is in the Game Center.

A camp that had started well

The setback interrupts an encouraging October for Bryant. In San Antonio’s preseason opener against the Atlanta Hawks he scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and made two of his five three-point attempts, according to Sports Illustrated’s Spurs site.

As a rookie he averaged 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in 11.5 minutes a game, then saw his minutes shrink in the playoffs, where he averaged 2.6 points in about eight and a half minutes. A healthy preseason was his chance to push for steadier work in Johnson’s rotation.

A growing injury list in San Antonio

Bryant is not the only Spur being watched. Tobias Harris, signed this summer after his run with the Detroit Pistons, has a strained left calf from training camp and has been ruled out for the rest of the preseason; Johnson called his availability for opening night “totally questionable.” De’Aaron Fox sat out the opener with tightness in his hip and is considered day-to-day.

With Harris already out, a longer absence for Bryant would leave the Spurs thinner at forward, putting more on Vassell, Castle and Harrison Barnes behind Victor Wembanyama.

What comes next

San Antonio visits the Utah Jazz on Monday, October 12, at 9 p.m. ET (Game Center), then hosts Phoenix on Wednesday, October 14 (Game Center). Follow updates on the Spurs team page and the league-wide injury report.