Taipans veteran sidelined

Cairns Taipans signing Kyle Adnam is facing a four-to-six week stint on the sidelines, after dislocating his kneecap at training. 

The 217-game NBL veteran only signed with the Taipans a fortnight ago, becoming his sixth NBL club, but will now be forced to watch on and provide guidance to his younger teammates from the sidelines.  

“It was a bit of a freak accident on the Tuesday … he’s an absolute trooper,” Adam Forde explained. 

“We called practice on the Tuesday after it happened, when he dislocated his kneecap. 

“He was back walking around two days later.”

Forde said initial fears were fast allayed, with the injury not as serious as first thought. 

“It was just a little bit of a strain that you would get from a patella popping out to the side,” he said. 

“We’re looking at four-to-six weeks.”

The Cairns coach said there was a silver lining to an unfortunate situation, with the 30-year-old set to have an impact off the court. 

“He’s used this time to really connect with some guys one-on-one, which is what we brought him in for,” Forde added.

Adnam made three appearances with the Illawarra Hawks across NBL24, following four seasons with the South East Melbourne Phoenix. 

His most productive campaign came in the 2020/2021 season, when he averaged 12 points and 3.6 assists a game.