The Grizzlies are in trouble! They have been cruising so far and sit comfortably in the second spot of the West standings. Obviously, a major reason for their success has been the dominant performance of Ja Morant. However, their position might be in jeopardy going forward because the latest update reveals that their talisman could be missing significant time because of a scary injury.

It was on Friday that Ja Morant injured his shoulder after running into a hard screen by Daniel Theis while guarding Herb Jones. He immediately fell to the floor upon impact and looked in immense pain as his hand began shivering. Sure enough, he checked out of the game and was done for the night. Moreover, he missed the following game against the Thunder because of the hurt shoulder.

Turns out, Ja has suffered a Grade 1 AC joint sprain in his right shoulder, because of which he has officially been deemed week-to-week by the Grizzlies. That means he will not suit up for tomorrow’s Suns clash. The scary part is that it’s the same shoulder that ruled Morant out for the season last year, as he was forced to undergo surgery to repair a labral tear.

Obviously, this is a massive blow for his Memphis team as Ja Morant has clearly been their best player, averaging 21.2 points and nearly eight assists. Moreover, the timing of this injury is concerning because the Grizzlies have a tough schedule ahead, with the next ten games against elite Western Conference teams, and seven of them on the road. Of course, the impact of his absence was evident last night as his team got blown out badly by the Thunder. Maybe a glimpse of things to come.

Ja Morant’s social media update raises concern while injury analyst predicts timeline for return

Just like all Grizzlies fans, Ja also seems heartbroken by his injury. And he expressed it online through his Instagram story. The hoopster posted a picture of himself sitting on the bench with a disappointed look on his face. Although he did not write any words, the emotion was understood by everyone who saw it. Earlier today, the Memphis star shared another image of him dribbling the ball on the court, likely hinting at how much he wanted to play!

Of course, everyone is concerned about how long Ja Morant will remain out. Although the injury is to the same shoulder as last season, he might return sooner than expected. As per injury analyst Jeff Stotts on X, the average time lost for a nondescript or low-grade AC sprain is 12.4 days, which would be around four games as per league schedule. That means Ja might return in a couple of weeks… However, nothing is certain for now as the Grizzlies continue to assess their superstar’s injury and determine a timeline for his return.