Former NFL head doctor gives take on Jaime Jaquez Jr injury

Former NFL doctor Dr. David Chao saw the injury of UCLA‘s star guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. and provided his insight on the injury. With the Bruins set to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet 16, he broke down what he saw and when you can expect him back.

“Inversion sprain. Typical inversion sprain to his right ankle. Typical for basketball players, and he left the game returned with ice etc. He limped off… but was able to put weight on it. I believe he could have returned to the game with the tape and limited success.”

“I believe he will play and will be reasonably effective. For us, he carries a S.I.C score of 81 right now but I might upgrade that, said Chao.“

The S.I.C is a rating system the doctor and team use to access the functional capabilities of an injured player. The higher the score, the more effective of a contributor the player will be in the game.

Dr. Chao closes with a detailed final assessment and explains why UCLA fans should expect to see Jaquez ready to go come Friday night.

“ …And here’s the deal, even though the video doesn’t look great, I don’t think there’s any new damage to his lateral ankle ligaments. It’s a standard inversion ankle sprain not eversion. Because it’s chronic laxity that causes the sprain not new acute tear, I think UCLA and their medical staff will be able to control the swelling. And I expect to see Jamie Jaquez Jr being effective and playing,” said Chao.

The No. 4 seed UCLA Bruins will faceoff against the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels for a birth in the Elite Eight on Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:39 PM CST.

UCLA’s Mick Cronin updates Jaquez injury status

UCLA advanced to the Sweet 16 with a victory over Saint Mary’s on Saturday. While the Bruins celebrate their achievement, it wasn’t all good news from their win — star guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. left the game with an apparent leg injury.

Afterwards, UCLA coach Mick Cronin provided the latest on Jaquez’s unfortunate injury.

“We got until Friday to play. And trust me, if he can walk, he’ll play,” stated Cronin. “I know him. He’ll probably — most guys that have what he has would have sat the rest of the season out. So, he’s got some issues. Plus, he’s had so many sprained ankles. I don’t know how much he can sprain it anymore. So we’ll see. Fortunately, we got until next Friday.”

As you can see, Cronin was slightly positive when speaking about the injury. Additionally, the UCLA coach stated that he believes in his players — with or without Jaquez on the hardwood.

“He, obviously, we play through him a lot on offense,” stated Cronin. “But I just told Jalen Clark and Payton, these guy will tell you, these guys got talent and these guys are still playing. So, obviously, you want Jaime to be healthy. But if he’s not, we got other guys we can play.