The injury bug has struck the Wollongong Hawks, with point guard Rhys Martin succumbing to an on-going ankle problem.Hours after the Hawks completed their first practice session with new import Gary Ervin on Sunday, Martin rolled his already-suspect ankle while walking along the street with team-mate Dan Jackson.The 24-year-old is almost certain to undergo surgery and is expected to miss at least the first two months of Wollongong's 2010-11 campaign.
Full coverage of the Hawks "The road was slightly uneven and I just went over on it," a dejected Martin said after watching the rest of the Hawks train yesterday."I expected to see a crater in the ground when I looked back. I couldn't believe it when there was virtually nothing there."Martin initially injured his ankle almost six weeks ago while playing for the Mackay Meteors in the Queensland Basketball League.Doctors told the 187cm backcourt general he needed an operation, but they said he could delay surgery and attempt to get through the 28-game season with the right ankle strapped.Unfortunately, Martin's ankle was unstable to the point that he re-injured himself simply while walking."I see the specialist on Monday and he'll determine whether I'm going to get surgery or not," he said."Now that I've re-injured it, I guess I'm probably leaning more towards surgery. It's about a three-month recovery process, so if I'm going to do it, I want to do it soon so I can get back on the court as soon as possible."Coming off a career-best season, back-up playmaker Martin was looking forward to forming a solid 1-2 punch with projected starter Gary Ervin."It's very frustrating because we've got almost the whole group of guys back together and we've got two guys (Ervin and Oscar Forman) who are awesome fits for this team," he said."I have to somehow keep my fitness up and slot back in when my foot's better, and there's a good feeling that we're going to build on what we finished last year. With eight guys back from last year, we don't have to go back to the teaching side of things. We can just move forward."With no Martin, the Hawks are desperately hoping Ervin receives clearance from immigration authorities in time for Friday night's trial against the Sydney Kings at the Snakepit.Tickets can be booked through the Hawks office on 42 297722.
