Breakers forward optimistic over fractured skull

He’s sporting a nasty fractured skull, but Breakers’ big man Rob Loe still has a sense of humour.

Loe suffered the sickening injury in the first quarter of the Breakers’ 103-72 win over the Illawarra Hawks at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Thursday.

The Tall Blacks centre was struck in the head by the elbow of highly-rated American teen LaMelo Ball, projected to be a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Speaking yesterday, Loe said some of his Breakers’ team-mates had felt the swelling when they came into training and were ‘‘pretty disgusted’’ by it.

‘‘So it’s still there and hopefully it doesn’t show too much in the future,’’ he said. ‘‘I went to block Melo [Ball]. He came down, his arm went between my arms and straight into my forehead, so right on the point. He’s got boney elbows. It hurt a little bit. I came down and there was a little dent in my head.

Rob Loe

It didn’t feel too great.’’

Loe stayed in hospital over the weekend with further tests conducted. A doctor’s appointment today will reveal the full extent of the damage and how long Loe will be sidelined. The Breakers have called in former Sydney Kings centre Deng Deng to cover Loe.

‘‘Mentally it’s pretty disappointing for me. I had been playing pretty well and a strong start to the season. Pretty disappointing, but the boys will hold down the fort.’’ The Breakers (1-3) host the Cairns Taipans next tomorrow.

● Kiwi NBA centre Steven Adams suffered a bruised knee playing ex-Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook. Adams went off in OKC’s 116-112 loss to the Houston Rockets yesterday with six min left.