Hawks star Trae Young leaves Celtics game with troubling injury

The Atlanta Hawks were blown out by the Boston Celtics on Monday night and to make matters worse, they lost star guard Trae Young to an injury.

Young exited late in the contest with a sprained rib and never returned , per the Team's X page.

Not a good sign for a Hawks team that is already dealing with a plethora of absences, which has put a bigger workload on Young's shoulders. Dyson Daniels, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and De'Andre Hunter, among others, are currently sidelined.

Without Trae for any prolonged period, Atlanta is in serious trouble. The former Oklahoma standout expressed his displeasure with the depleted rotation just last week. Via Malik Brown:

"It's not great; it's not fun. I wish my team was full and healthy," Young said. "I feel like I've been through this a lot since I've been here. I wish I could have everyone out there. I know they make things a lot more easier for me, but we have to figure it out. It's a next-man-up mentality with this league. I know it's cliche and everybody says it, but we got to live by it, and we got to move forward."

Rib injuries can be tricky given how much movement in basketball involves the midsection. The Hawks are sitting at 3-5 right now and have minimal offensive options outside of Trae Young who can consistently produce. He's averaging 27 points, 11.7 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per night.

Jalen Johnson is Atlanta's second-best scorer right now with 18.1 PPG, 9,9 RPG, and 5.3 APG. If Trae is out for a while, Johnson will need to step it up immensely. Rookie Zaccharie Risacher will also have the chance to make his presence felt a little bit more in the Hawks' frontcourt. Making up for 27 points per contest will be very difficult.

Stay tuned for more updates on Trae Young's status.