Basketball: Hurt toe hobbles centre

Alex Pledger (No 35) struggled to make an impact as the Breakers beat Sydney. Photo / Getty Images

Smiles were affixed to the faces of most Breakers after extending their winning streak, but Alex Pledger left the court in tears.

The centre has been playing through the pain of a toe injury and, after Friday night's victory over Sydney, that pain appears to have taken its toll.

Pledger needs surgery to repair the ligament damage around his big toe but the recovery time would see him miss the rest of the campaign, leaving the off-season as the most desirable date for any operation.

While the Breakers have so far successfully managed his workload and received important, if reduced, contributions from their big man, that changed on Friday.

Pledger managed only two points and one rebound in 15 minutes of court time, ending the game in an emotional state.

Coach Dean Vickerman denied the distress was about any larger ramifications, rather a mix of the physical and mental anguish at being unable to help his team-mates.

"He's in a lot of pain," Vickerman said. "He was in a lot of pain at halftime and I said to him, 'can you give us a couple of minutes?' And he said he could, so he battled through."

But uncertainty still surrounds Pledger's continued involvement in the club's playoff push, which was boosted by a fifth consecutive win that saw them consolidate top spot on the Australian NBL ladder.

The Breakers know how important the seven-footer is to their plans - with the maxim "you can't teach height" being regularly uttered when discussing the injury - yet performances like Friday's may do more harm than good.

"We've told him to just do what he can," said Cedric Jackson, who led the Breakers with 21 points. "We don't want him to over-exert himself and try to score 10-plus points or things like that. That's all we can ask of him - doing the best he can."

That level could be tested in the coming weeks. The Breakers have eight days before their next game, a rematch with Sydney across the ditch, but the following four fixtures come across two weeks.

Pledger has already managed such a hectic period, playing well when his side tackled a schedule of nine games in a month, but the reduced workload of three home games in three weeks was unable to prevent the injury becoming a significant impediment.

Vickerman: "Now we sit down with him and say, 'has it improved, have you felt anything better coming from the rest?' By the look of it right now, maybe not. So then we have a decision to make about is this just a one-off and can he get back up for next week, or is this something that's going to plague him?"