Trevor Ariza could be out for Wizards until 2013

The Washington Wizards' premiere perimeter defender, Trevor Ariza, could be out until the new year after sustaining a leg injury in the Wizards' win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday, no doubt one of the biggest upsets so far this season.

CSN Washington tweeted Wednesday afternoon that Ariza could be out three weeks with a calf sprain. The team's last game of the year comes Dec. 29 on the road against the Chicago Bulls and then they are back at home on Jan. 1 against the Dallas Mavericks.

Wizards beat reporter Michael Lee live tweeted during the game that Ariza is "seriously hurt" and collapsed after trying to dribble the ball. As Lee pointed out, the Wizards will likely liste him as "day-to-day" but that status could remain for a weeks.

Despite the big win on Tuesday night, the Wizards have posted a 2-13 record on the season, good for worst in the NBA this year. Wizards head coach Randy Wittman said he still has no timetable for John Wall's return and couldn't even speculate when the point guard would return to practice. The team diagnosed Wall with a stress injury to his left knee cap at the end of September and said he would be out at least two months, so there must be concern from within the franchise that he doesn't appear to be on schedule for a return to practice.

According to a report Wednesday afternoon from Craig Stouffer of The Washington Examiner, Ariza, who was seen leaving the arena in a walking boot, said he felt a pain that he had never felt before when he initially went down on the court with the injury:

"When I was running I just felt something that was uncomfortable, something I never felt before,” Ariza said. “I had to stop. I didn’t want to turn the ball over. We were in the middle of a run, so I had to stop play."

Wittman said he won't confirm a definite amount of time that Ariza will be out:

“I’m not sitting here saying it’s going to be three and a half weeks. But we’re looking at some time."

In his first season with the Wizards after coming over in the offseason in a trade from the New Orleans Hornets, Ariza is averaging 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.

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