UNC Basketball: Suns fear bad injury news for Cam Johnson

Just days after putting up a career night for the Phoenix Suns, former UNC basketball standout Cam Johnson may be forced to miss an extended amount of time.

After being a steady contributor off the bench, the Phoenix Suns decided it was finally time to insert former UNC basketball standout Cameron Johnson into its starting lineup.

Johnson was starting to come to form, as the stellar shooting that he displayed in Chapel Hill was working for him in the NBA. He scored 15 or more points in each of his last three contests, including a career-high 29 points in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 1.

Unfortunately, Johnson was forced to leave Friday night’s game just five minutes in due to a knee injury, one that the Suns now fear is serious in nature.

According to NBA Insider Shams Charania, the Suns fear that Johnson suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee. The testing that Johnson has had so far indicates the meniscus injury, but he’s due to undergo more evaluations and imaging over the next few days.

If the injury is as significant as the early testing shows, it would be a major blow for both Johnson and the Suns.

For the Suns, they’ll lose a starter, one who seemed to be starting to adjust well to his new expanded role.

In Johnson’s case, not only would missing significant time be the worst case, but his impending restricted free agency will take a hit as well. Prior to the season, Johnson and the Suns did not agree to a contract extension, leaving his future in a bit of limbo for the time being.

Hopefully, the future testing proves otherwise, but it appears as if the current diagnosis doesn’t look to good for the former UNC basketball standout.

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