Pacers center Myles Turner out indefinitely with toe injury

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is out indefinitely after suffering a partial tear in his right great toe.

The Indiana Pacers currently sit two games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference. With a month remaining in the regular season, the Pacers need to have all hands on deck. Unfortunately, they will be without a huge presence on their roster.

On Monday, the Pacers announced that Turner is out indefinitely after an MRI revealed he suffered a partial tear in the plantar plate in the big toe of his right foot.

Pacers: Myles Turner out indefinitely due to a right foot injury

This news stings for the Pacers, as Turner just returned to the team this past Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks after missing the previous six games due to a left ankle sprain. In his return, Turner scored 9 points (on 2-of-9 shooting from the field) and added 11 rebounds in 34 minutes of playing time in Indiana’s 129-117 loss. In the process, however, Turner suffered what was initially diagnosed as a right toe sprain, making him questionable for Monday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Twenty-four hours later, Turner is out indefinitely with a partially torn big toe.

Turner’s absence will hurt the Pacers, as they are one of the better shot-blocking teams in the league. In fact, they are tied with the first-place Philadelphia 76ers in blocks per game (6.3). Turner has obviously played a huge role in that tally, as he is averaging a league-high 3.4 blocks per game.

Besides blocks, Turner is averaging 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds a night through 47 games, while shooting 47.7 percent from the field.

With Turner on the sidelines for the foreseeable future, the Pacers will have to rely on backup center Goga Bitadze to pick up the slack in the starting lineup.