NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons will miss at least the next three games after being diagnosed with a left lateral upper calf strain, the team announced before Wednesday’s game against the Washington Wizards.
Simmons, who has already missed six games this year because of left knee soreness, exited Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic with, what the team said at the time, was the same knee issue.
The calf issue is new for Simmons, who had offseason back surgery, and finally seemed to find some consistency in his game over the past two weeks after struggling to find any rhythm over the first month of the season.
The Nets also announced that big man Yuta Watanabe will miss at least another week because of ongoing issues with a right hamstring strain. Watanabe, who hasn’t played since Nov. 20, initially thought the injury wasn’t serious, but a follow up MRI on Monday revealed results “consistent” with the first test.
Both Simmons and Watanabe are scheduled to be reassessed again next week.