Basketball: Painful back injury sidelines Penney

Kirk Penney. Photo / Getty Images

It sounds like a painful holiday for Kirk Penney who will be out of action for the Breakers for four weeks with an annular tear in his back.

Penney suffered the injury during a defensive drill in training on Wednesday and has barely ventured out of his house since. He's on a good dose of pain killers and been told not to do anything for five days.

It was not the sort of news the Breakers wanted to hear. The North Shore-based club were pre-season favourites but they will need everything to go right for them to pick up their first ANBL title.

Losing their star player was not in the plan.

Penney has two annular tears in his back, which are tears in the discs in his back. It is not a slipped disk or bulging disk, but painful nonetheless.

The four-week estimate is only a guide and more won't be known until he begins rehabilitation this week.

The Breakers proved last Thursday in the 79-74 win over the Melbourne Tigers that they can win without Penney but they have a busy schedule over the next month, playing the Wollongong Hawks (A), Townsville Crocs (H), Adelaide 36ers (H), Gold Coast Blaze (H) and Perth Wildcats Wildcats (A).

They at present sit mid-table in the early stages of the eight-team league with two wins and two losses.

"We have a very strong group at this club and we are good with depth," coach Andrej Lemanis said of Penney's injury. "I am not one to go into any game considering who we don't have, the focus is always on who we do have and what we need to do to get the job done."

Penney was already showing signs of recapturing the sort of form that won him last season's league MVP title.

He averaged 22 points in his first three games, including a game-high 32 points in the season opener against Cairns. He also averaged four rebounds and four assists.

The Breakers have good depth this season and it will be put to the test over the coming weeks.

CJ Bruton stepped up on Thursday in the absence of Penney and scored 32 points against Melbourne in the shooting guard position.