OAKLAND –- Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who sustained a broken nose in the second quarter of a 123-101 preseason win over Houston Thursday night, says he’ll be back sooner than later -– in plenty of time for the Oct. 27 regular-season opener.
And he’ll be only slightly harder to recognize.
“This is the fourth time I’ve broken it, so I’ll probably have surgery (Friday) afternoon, I hope, if not Saturday morning,” Bogut said.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
[POOLE: Warriors' Bogut suffers broken nose vs Rockets]
It is expected that Bogut will miss the preseason matchup with the Lakers on Saturday in San Diego and, probably, the game against the Clippers next Tuesday in Los Angeles. He projected he’ll have a fitted mask and be able to play Oct. 22 against the Lakers in Anaheim.
The injury occurred as Bogut was defending the rim on a dunk attempt by Rockets guard K. J. McDaniels. The dunk missed but McDaniels’ forearm clobbered Bogut across the nose, after which he crashed to the floor.
Bogut was whistled for a foul, remained on his back for a few moments, holding his nose, before rising and leaving the game with 50.8 seconds remaining in the half.
Golden State Warriors
“It is what it is,” Bogut said. “I’m just more pissed off because I got called for the foul, because I didn’t touch him at all. My nose hit his fist, and I got called for a foul.”
[POOLE: Instant Replay: Curry, Warriors mow through Rockets' C-team]
Bogut, his nose bright red and clearly swollen, said he expects to undergo a procedure to clear his right nostril.
“They’ll reset it, put me out of it for a day or two and get the anesthesia out of my system and start working out again and get back at it,” Bogut said.
Bogut is the second Warrior to be sidelined in as many games, as his injury comes two nights after starting forward Harrison Barnes sustained a bone bruise to his right knee after colliding with Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay.
Barnes did not play Thursday night and was listed as day-to-day. His return is expected during the upcoming road trip, perhaps as soon as Saturday.