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Kirk Penney holds up play to scan his options - Source: Photosport -
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Breakers star Kirk Penney's back injury looks set to keep him on the sidelines for up to a month.
Penney hasn't slipped a disc as first feared, but has a number of tears in the disc that will require time to settle and heal before he can consider a return.
For now Penney is looking to cope with the inflammation and pain before considering a rehab programme that will likely see the Breakers leading scorer out of action for three to four weeks.
The painful injury has laid the Tall Black low since Wednesday, albeit the spirits of Penney were raised thanks to the efforts of his team-mates in repelling the Tigers at the North Shore Events Centre.
In his absence CJ Bruton led all scorers with a 32 point haul to defeat the Tigers on Thursday night, the Australian point guard was asked after the game if the Breakers can win in Wollongong next week without Penney.
"For sure we can, if you don't believe you can win you shouldn't be out here. We believe we can win the championship and while Kirk is a big part of our team and is our go-to scorer, we have the depth to cope and get the job done, we have shown that against a very good Tigers side."
Head coach Andrej Lemanis while disappointed not to have Penney, was pleased with the character shown by his team and has no doubts they will cope without their leading scorer.
"We have a very strong group at this club and as has been pointed out by you guys (the media) we are good with depth. I am not one to go into any game considering who we don't have, the focus is always on who we do have and what we need to do to get the job done."
