http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... ave_s.htmlPistons forward Charlie Villanueva will have surgery on broken nose
The bad news: An injury knocked another key Detroit Pistons player out of action Sunday. The good news: As bloody as it was, it is likely Charlie Villanueva will be back on the court in the near future.Villanueva left the Pistons’ 94-88 win against the Atlanta Hawks with a broken nose. Villanueva posted on his Twitter account Sunday night he will undergo surgery today, then added: “The mask is on its way. Let’s go.”
It is unlikely he will be out of action long, but the Pistons likely will re-assess the situation Monday. Villanueva stumbled after being fouled while driving the lane with 9:30 left in the game. As he fell to the floor, his face smashed into Ben Wallace’s hip, and blood gushed from his nostrils and a cut on the bridge of his nose. Villanueva stayed on the floor with a towel on his face. After a lengthy break in the action, which included a Pistons timeout, he made his way back onto the floor to shoot free throws. But his nose still was bleeding.
Pistons trainer Mike Abdenour worked some more on Villanueva, who ended up shooting -- and making -- two free throws with a wad of gauze hanging out of his nose. At that point, he went to the locker room and did not return. “Let me tell you,” Pistons coach John Kuester said, “that guy got popped pretty good, had blood everywhere and was very courageous in regards to going back and knocking down those foul shots. They ended up being big foul shots.” Villanueva scored 13 points off the bench after starting each of his first 16 games with the Pistons. Kuester started Jason Maxiell in Villanueva’s place. “I was proud of the way that Charlie responded,” Kuester said. “He’s a total team player. He was like, ‘Hey, I understand. Whatever it takes for us to win.’ He’s been that way from Day 1.”
