Hackett out with back spasms
USC sophomore point guard Daniel Hackett was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back Monday night and will be sidelined indefinitely, according to a statement released by the school.
Hackett will not require surgery for the condition but must complete a core-strengthening program to alleviate the back spasms that have plagued him since he bruised his right pelvis during a fall Jan. 31 against Arizona.
A timetable for Hackett’s return will be determined once his spasms subside and his core strength level is evaluated.
Before he was examined by Dr. Robert G. Watkins at the Marina Spine Center in Marina del Rey on Monday night, Hackett had expressed optimism that his condition was not serious.
“I’m not worried,” Hackett said. “We’ll see what the X-rays say and then we’ll go from there.”
The 6-foot-5 guard said that he remained a little stiff and sore from his pelvis injury but that he was “positive about the whole thing. . . . I hurt my back in high school, and I know for a fact that feeling is nothing like I have right now. It was way more painful back in the day.”
Hackett was sidelined for nearly two months because of a broken vertebra during his junior year at Bellflower St. John Bosco High.
After suffering his pelvis injury less than two minutes into the Arizona game, Hackett returned two days later against Arizona State and played 18 minutes.
He played 27 minutes against Washington on Thursday, when he sprained his right ankle, and then played 24 minutes against Washington State on Saturday.
Any extended loss of Hackett would be a serious blow to the Trojans, who next play host to UCLA on Sunday at the Galen Center. Though freshmen O.J. Mayo and Angelo Johnson play point guard, the loss of Hackett would leave USC without a scholarship perimeter substitute.
Freshman Marcus Simmons is still recovering from an ankle injury, and sophomore Ryan Wetherell and junior Terence Green are walk-ons who seldom play.
Hackett averages 9.4 points and a team-leading 3.6 assists.
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The Trojans are scheduled to resume practice today after taking Monday off.
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