Dante Exum suffers left shoulder injury in Utah Jazz preseason game

The injury bug simply won’t leave the Utah Jazz alone as Dante Exum suffered a potentially severe left shoulder injury in Friday’s preseason bout.

The basketball gods really have it in for the Utah Jazz…

Three games into the preseason, one of the brightest points for the Jazz thus far had been none other than the former fifth overall draft pick Dante Exum. The young man out of Australia had so much to prove coming into this season and in his first two games, he looked absolutely up to the task, even outplaying starting point guard Ricky Rubio.

However, it appears the relentless injury bug has sabotaged the Utah Jazz once again. In Friday’s preseason bout against the Phoenix Suns, Dante Exum took a nasty fall in which he very clearly injured his left shoulder. Immediately after doing so, he sprinted off the court and to the locker room, further signalling that something was very much awry.

As several Utah Jazz media members and others pointed out, it was a nasty, nasty fall:

Shortly after taking place, Utah Jazz PR announced the obvious – Dante Exum would not return due to a left shoulder injury:

This is tragic news not only for the Utah Jazz who were planning to have Dante Exum turn into a key part of both their offensive and defensive attack, but for the young man himself. He’s already suffered a torn ACL which forced him to miss the entirety of what would have been his second season in the league, then had a frustrating year last year as he tried to bounce back from said injury.

Yet, just when everything appeared to be going right for Exum, this happened and it’s an extremely tough pill to swallow. The tweets below from Salt City Hoops’ David Smith and my own J-Notes colleague Zack Padmore perfectly sum up my thoughts:

However, it’s also important to not jump to conclusions. While it could be a severe injury that would cause Exum to miss significant time, much like Kevin Love’s from a few seasons ago, it’s also possible that it won’t turn out to be as bad as it looked. As Tony Jones reminded fans in the tweets below, Exum will undergo an MRI tomorrow which will show the true extent of the damage.

For the sake of the Jazz, and especially the sake of Exum, who deserves all the chances in the world to finally show that he can shine, let’s hope that the extent is as minimal as possible. Maybe it sounds a bit ridiculous, but learning of this news absolutely breaks my heart.

Like many Jazz fans, I was thrilled to finally see Exum have a breakout year and show his worth. Let’s hope once this is all resolved, he still gets that chance.

There’s been a lot of negative speculation so far, but as Dan Clayton of Salt City Hoops reminds us, it’s best not to get too panicked until we know for sure:

Stay close to TheJNotes.com as we’ll be sure to keep you closely updated on the situation as soon as we know more.

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Prayers up for Exum. Get well soon, Dante.