Shanxi Zhongyu will miss their leading scorer Marcus Williams in Sunday's CBA game hosting Jiangsu as the former NBA guard suffers a torn knee ligament.
A source from the Zhongyu club testified with Xinhua on Sunday morning that the 26-year-old could be sidelined for about a month.
Williams had been absent from Friday's home game of Shanxi against Zhejiang Guangsha due to the right knee injury.
Having won 10-4 in the regular season, Shanxi are now the third among 17 CBA teams, and the absence of Williams will be a major blow to the semifinalists of last season's post-season.
Williams, who had played for NBA's San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers before arriving in China's basketball league in 2009, averaged 30.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists this season, and is now among the top three scorers of the league.
"My leg is getting better everyday just got to take care of it," said Williams on his twitter-like sina weibo.
"Thank you everyone for the support and love, it really means a lot to me and my family.
"It's a long season and we want to be at full strength in the push for the playoffs and beyond," he added.
The Zhongyu team is looking to sign a new foreign aid to fill in Williams' vacant position for the remaining games of the season.
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