Markelle Fultz injury update: No. 1 pick diagnosed with left ankle sprain

It looks like 76ers fans can take a deep breath, as their top draft pick Markelle Fultz was diagnosed with just a sprained left ankle.

Philadelphia 76ers fans almost had tragedy strike on Friday night when Markelle Fultz rolled his ankle against the Golden State Warriors in his Summer League debut, but everyone can breathe a sigh of relief about the injury.

After injuring his left ankle in what looked to be a bad situation on Saturday night, Fultz was immediately taken back to the locker room and had to be carried off the court with no weight on his left foot.

The first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Fultz had just signed his rookie contract earlier in the day before stepping onto the court for his first action in a Sixers uniform. Now, it looks like we won’t be seeing the Washington product on the court for anytime soon.

While many fans were fearing for the worst, it looks like Fultz will only come away with some scratches and bruises, if you want to think of it like that, as he was just diagnosed with a sprained ankle, according to Sixers summer league coach Lloyd Pierce. The injury looked like it could’ve been way worse, and the team definitely avoided disaster with this diagnosis.

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Fultz will have to be careful not to aggravate or worsen the injury over the next few months, as the 76ers definitely don’t want to have another top overall draft pick off the court for another season. They’ve already had to go one year without Ben Simmons, and their “process” seems to suffer a setback every time they seem to get it truly going.

It’s likely that the Sixers won’t put their star rookie back on the court anytime soon, and the best bet may be to use some bubble wrap or quarantine Fultz to make sure he’s ready for action when the regular season rolls around.