Derrick Rose's Ankle Injury Diagnosed as Sprain, Will Be Re-Evaluated Saturday

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Derrick Rose suffered a sprained right ankle in Friday's game against the Atlanta Hawks at Target Center, according to ESPN NBA reporter Malika Andrews. He will undergo further evaluations Saturday.

John Meyer of Canis Hoopus and Forbes provided more insight on Rose following Minnesota's 123-120 home loss in overtime:

Rose started the season in scalding fashion by averaging 18.8 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds over his first eight games. That stretch was punctuated by a career-high 50-point outing in a 128-125 win over the Utah Jazz on Halloween. 

However, the 30-year-old came up hobbling in the following game and was ruled out midway through Minnesota's loss to the Golden State Warriors because of left ankle soreness—a concern given he took a leave of absence from the Cleveland Cavaliers last fall because of a left ankle sprain. 

This time around, Rose missed just one game to recover. 

Entering Friday, Rose was averaging 18.7 points, 4.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 48.9 percent from the field through 31 games.        

Without him, Tyus Jones should be tasked with shouldering a bigger workload in Minnesota's backcourt.