Bradley Beal injury update: Suns star without timetable after ankle sprain, once again putting ‘Big 3’ on hold

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal suffered a sprained right ankle in Friday’s 139-122 loss to the New York Knicks, exiting in the first quarter before later being ruled out for the rest of the game. Afterward, Suns coach Frank Vogel said that X-rays were negative and that there is currently no timetable for Beal’s return.

Beal landed on the foot of Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo following a 3-point attempt at the 7:29 mark of the first quarter, leading to a severe roll of the ankle. DiVincenzo was called for a flagrant foul on the play, while Beal stayed in the game to make his free throw before being subbed out and heading to the locker room.

Beal had just returned on Tuesday from a 12-game absence due to a back injury. He has only played in six games this season, entering Friday night with averages of 16.4 points, four rebounds and 3.6 assists on 40% 3-point shooting.

“I’m disappointed for him. He worked really hard,” Vogel said on Friday. “You could see the disappointment on his face in the back. That’s my biggest concern, is just keeping him lifted. He’ll get back soon enough, but it’s been a frustrating type of season for him.”

This latest injury and potential absence further stunts the development of the Suns’ “Big Three” of Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The trio has only played 24 minutes together this season, and the results have been phenomenal with a net rating of plus-24.7 in the extremely limited sample size. Obviously health is the priority, but the stars need to play together in order to build chemistry before what they hope is a long and successful playoff run.

Durant, who has suffered his fair share of injuries over the past few seasons, thinks that Phoenix will eventually be back stronger than ever, despite the inability of the Big Three to stay on the court.

“Shit happens. That’s a part of it,” Durant said on Friday. “Brad will be back. Great training staff. We got support behind him. He’ll be back out there. You think we got bad luck? I don’t believe in that.”