Suns center Oso Ighodaro leaves the opener with a right hip injury and does not return

Suns center Oso Ighodaro left Wednesday’s season opener against the Trail Blazers with an apparent right hip injury, Dylan Kane reports. He was seen grabbing at the hip and moving gingerly before heading to the locker room shortly before the first half ended, and was ruled out for the rest of the game minutes into the third quarter. Phoenix lost 124-83.

Ighodaro had been scratched from the Suns’ final preseason game on Oct. 16 with minor hip soreness. He signed a three-year, $29 million extension on Sunday. He came off the bench in the opener as second-year center Khaman Maluach started, and played more minutes in the first half (14) than Maluach (9), going 4-for-7 for eight points with three rebounds and three assists.

Raphielle Johnson writes that Ighodaro took a hit to the right hip in the second quarter and initially tried to play through it before being subbed out with just over a minute left in the half. Maluach and two-way center Duop Reath are expected to cover the center minutes while he is out.