McGrady sprains right elbow, expected to miss about a week

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HOUSTON -- Rockets guard Tracy McGrady is expected to miss about a week after spraining his right elbow against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

McGrady

"It's definitely good news," McGrady said after the Rockets' 93-90 loss. "I actually thought it could have been a lot worse than it was."

MRI tests performed Wednesday night revealed no tendon or ligament damage.

McGrady suffered a sprained right elbow and nerve irritation in the second quarter and did not return to the game. He will be listed as day-to-day.

"I just damaged some nerves on my elbow," McGrady said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "I'm missing time. It's just a situation I couldn't have done anything about. It's a freak accident. You hate for those to happen, but it's part of the game. Yeah, I could be out a lot more than I will be out."

The 6-foot-8 McGrady was hurt trying to swat the ball away from Luke Walton in the final minute of the second quarter. McGrady's arm hit Walton's arm and snapped backward.

McGrady was fouled by Kwame Brown seconds earlier and shot two free throws left-handed, making the first and badly missing the second. McGrady said he momentarily lost feeling in his fingers.

"When I got to the hospital, I started getting feeling back in my hands," McGrady said. "It was very painful."

"We will see each day how much he has improved," Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton said. "Just based on an educational guess, from what I see so far, I would expect that it's a week at this point."

McGrady was the NBA's leading scorer coming into the game, averaging 29 points. He has been plagued by injuries the last two seasons, mostly to his back. He missed 11 games last season, seven because of back spasms.

McGrady said one of his goals for this season was to play in every game.

"For this injury to occur in this game, it's heartbreaking and disappointing," he said. "There's not a lot I can do except sit back and wait to see how it feels."

The Associated Press contributed to this story

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