Kemba Walker Injury: Updates on Hornets Guard's Knee and Return

Updates from Tuesday, Oct. 14

ESPN.com's Staff, via The Associated Press, provides a statement from Kemba Walker discussing the injury:

"

I just bumped knees with Payton. I'm all right, though. A little sore, but I'll be all right.

[...]

Probably just a few days. It's nothing major. It's nothing big to worry about. Just a straight knee-on-knee hit. I'll be fine.

"

ESPN.com continued with a statement from Hornets head coach Steve Clifford discussing the potential severity of the injury:

"

I think he's OK. He's got one spot where it's a little bit sore, but I think everything's going to be fine. It'll just depend on how he feels (Tuesday). He's in the training room now and I don't think they felt like this was anything serious.

"

Original Text

A new-look Charlotte Hornets roster is off to a rocky start this preseason with the news that star point guard Kemba Walker left the team's fourth exhibition contest with a knee injury.

Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer shared the prognosis shortly after the former UConn star left the court with trainers:

Before his exit, Walker put on a show against the Orlando Magic with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

It was an expected outburst after a season in which he averaged 17.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He had posted a minimum of 11 points in each of the three prior exhibitions.

Though the extent of the time the 24-year-old star will spend on the shelf is unknown, any time lost is critical as the Hornets tout new depth and a star player alongside Walker in the form of free-agent acquisition Lance Stephenson. Coach Steve Clifford recently spoke about this new depth that needs time to groom together.

“If you look at our roster, compared to a year ago, as we start the year, we’ll have a better starting lineup,” Clifford said, per Richard Walker of the Gaston Gazette. “We have more shooting and the potential for more depth.”

Recent comments from Jannero Pargo speak to Walker's leadership value in this developmental process, per the team's Twitter account:

For the time being, Clifford will lean on Pargo, Brian Roberts and Gary Neal, among others, to develop chemistry on the wings until Walker is cleared to return.

The Hornets have just five preseason games left before the regular season tips off Oct. 29 against the Milwaukee Bucks.