Joe Johnson: Update on Atlanta Hawks Star's Knee Injury

The Atlanta Hawks saw their star guard, Joe Johnson, go down with an apparent knee injury during Monday night's game against the Chicago Bulls. 

Update: Wednesday, March 7 at 8:40 p.m. EDT by Adam Wells

Johnson's timetable to return is still unknown, but he did take some positive steps on Tuesday night before the Hawks game against Indiana. 

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Johnson took in a pregame workout and did not complain about any soreness in his knee. 

“It felt good," Johnson said. "No soreness. But I still don’t know when I’m going to play on this trip.”

Not the most encouraging news, but it could have been a lot worse, all things considered. 

Update: Friday, March. 2 at 12:05 p.m. EST by Alex Kay

Joe Johnson is not going to be playing tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to a report by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Hawks star returned on Wednesday night to face the Golden State Warriors and scored 18 points in 38 minutes of play, but knee trouble flared up late in the game.

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“After the Golden State game, Joe doesn’t feel like his knee is 100 percent and he did experience a little discomfort, particularly in the second half,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “We made the decision to hold him out until that knee gets stronger, until he feels like he is closer to 100 percent.”

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In this shortened season, it's wise for the Hawks to keep close tabs on their best player's health and have him ready for the postseason, not a meaningless regular season game.

Keep it tuned here throughout the week to find out the status on Johnson's day-to-day knee injury and when he will return. 

UPDATE: Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 6:45 p.m. EDT

While the knee tendinitis is going to likely be a nagging issue for the rest of the season, it sounds like Johnson is willing to fight through the pain. Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms that the guard will be in the starting lineup tonight against Golden State:  

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#Hawks G Joe Johnson (knee) to start vs. GS. @zaza27 (calf) is active.Stephen Curry (foot) is out for GS.

— Michael Cunningham (@ajchawks) February 29, 2012"

While he’ll play tonight after receiving nine days off, the injury didn’t magically disappear. Unfortunately for fans in Atlanta, Johnson’s knee will be something to monitor for the rest of the year. 

UPDATE: Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 2:20 p.m. EDT

Finally, there is a bit of good news on the Joe Johnson front. Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports there is no structural damage to Johnson's knee. 

After an MRI, head coach Larry Drew stated the following. Via the report. 

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It is just tendinitis. From that standpoint, it’s just going to be on feel, how he feels with treatment and therapy. … For us, it’s important that he gets well to where it settles down from a pain standpoint.

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The Hawks will evaluate Johnson again after the All-Star break and before they begin action against the Warriors on February 29th. 

UPDATE: Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 12:20 p.m. EDT

Atlanta Hawks fans get hit again with some bad news. ESPN's John Hollinger reports via tweet that Joe Johnson is out of this weekend's festivities.

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Joe Johnson officially out of All-Star game. Rondo or Josh Smith most likely replacements. No, not Jeremy.

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) February 22, 2012"

UPDATE: Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 2:15 p.m. EDT

John Hollinger of ESPN.com is reporting that Johnson is going to be out for the Hawks' game against Orlando on Thursday because he is getting an MRI on his knee. 

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Hawks say Joe is also out Thursday and will get MRI on left knee. Don't lock in those All-Star break plans, Josh.

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) February 21, 2012"

Meanwhile, Marc Johnson of Yahoo! Sports added to the report, saying that the Hawks guard will miss the next two games because of the knee injury. 

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Hawks Joe Johnson is returning to ATL to have MRI on injured knee and will miss next 2 games. Looks like an AllStar no go probably now.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 21, 2012"

While it will be a shame not to see Johnson play in the All-Star Game this weekend, the Hawks have to be more concerned about the long-term effect this could have on their season. 

The Twitter feed for the Atlanta Hawks released a tweet after Johnson left the game early. It simply stated that Johnson would not return to the game.

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Joe Johnson is done for the night (knee).

— AT - HawksPRGuy (@HawksPRGuy) February 20, 2012"

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported earlier in the day that Johnson had some issues with his left knee and he looked sluggish in the early going. Chris Vivlamore writes: 

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Drew said he expects no issues with Joe Johnson’s left knee. The All-Star wore a soft brace to protect his problematic knee Saturday, saying he is suffering from tendinitis around the patellar tendon.

"We will keep an eye on it," Drew said.

"

It's possible that the tendinitis flared up amid the losing effort. The Hawks ended up dropping the game, 90-79. Before he left, Johnson was shooting 5-for-11 with 12 points and four assists. 

This is an injury that will be updated well after the game has ended. There is sure to be a myriad of examinations before we know for sure how grave the knee injury really might be. 

There is no doubt fans will hate to see a player of Joe Johnson's caliber leave this team for an extended amount of time. 

With this loss, the Hawks are now 1-4 in the last five games and on the wrong side of momentum at the moment. This is not the time for such a relied-upon scorer to be sidelined. 

The New York Knicks and Orlando Magic loom in the immediate future in what would be trying tests without Johnson on the floor. 

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