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The Charlotte Hornets will be without forward Gordon Hayward due to a fractured shoulder, his agent told ESPN on Friday. Hayward is out indefinitely and will be evaluated for a return to play on a week-to-week basis. 

Hayward's shoulder issue dates back to Nov. 2 when he did not return for the second half of the team's loss to the Chicago Bulls. He then sat out the next eight games with what was deemed a shoulder bruise, before returning on Nov. 18 against the Cleveland Cavaliers

He played in three games, but did not look like himself and also appeared to reinjure the shoulder against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 20. Finally, after a poor outing versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 23, in which Hayward finished with seven points and four turnovers on 3-of-10 shooting, the team shut him back down. He did not play in their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and it's unclear when he'll be back on the court now that the fracture has been discovered. 

In the aftermath of this latest news, Hayward's wife took to Instagram to call out the team for how the injury was handled. 

He actually has a fractured scapula..... that they had him play with last game... that's why he couldn't move his arm up in the last game.....everyone who knows Gordon knows he has one goal and that's to win and play the right way, he's the most truthful player/person you'd find. If he's not gonna play it's for something more than a bruise....

I'm gonna stop there and not get into prior things.

Just to clarify - since the team doesn't say. It's a fracture in the shoulder. Which is a broken bone. I'm over them not protecting players. Just was talking with a young players mom and she was saying the same thing....

Injuries have been a common theme for Hayward ever since his devastating ankle injury in his first game with the Boston Celtics in 2017. He missed the remainder of that season and since his return has played just 228 games in four-plus seasons due to a variety of ailments. Though he's always been a reliable all-around player when healthy, he just has not been able to stay on the court. 

Hayward's setback is the latest injury blow for the Hornets, who have also been without star guard LaMelo Ball for most of the season due to ankle injuries. Without Miles Bridges as well due to his domestic violence case, the Hornets have the fifth-worst record in the league at 6-14.