Schröder to miss several weeks through injury

Dennis Schröder will be out of action for several weeks. The Charlotte Hornets’ playmaker has suffered a torn muscle fibre in his thigh.

As announced by the Hornets, Dennis Schröder will be out for several weeks. The playmaker has suffered a torn muscle fibre in his thigh and is due to be re-assessed in 14 days’ time. The 33-year-old had already missed Saturday night’s home game against the Boston Celtics, which Charlotte lost heavily.

In addition to Schröder, Kon Knueppel will also be sidelined; the forward also suffered a torn thigh muscle during his comeback against the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the week. The three-point specialist had already missed the first eight games of the season due to the same injury; he has now been injured again after just a few minutes.

In addition, Brandon Miller will also be absent on Tuesday night, having sustained a groin strain in the first half of the Cup match against the Celtics. Grant Williams (thigh), who has not featured at all this season, will also remain sidelined.

Schröder out: Opportunity for Anderson

Schröder’s absence is likely to mean that Christian Anderson Jr. will once again be given a chance as the backup playmaker behind Coby White. Against the Celtics, the 20-year-old played for 25 minutes, scoring four points and providing five assists. In that match, Hannes Steinbach also featured in the rotation for the first time due to an injury to centre Moussa Diabate; the Frenchman is also a doubt for the match against Cleveland.

Schröder, meanwhile, has been one of the few constants for the Hornets; in nine games, the Braunschweig native has averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists, albeit with a meagre field goal percentage of 36.4 per cent. After a good start to the season, the Hornets have now lost six games in a row and sit tenth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 3-7.