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San Antonio • Utah Jazz shooting guard Alec Burks is out indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle Tuesday.
The procedure, Burks' third since fracturing his leg during a hard fall during a game last December, removed an extra area of bone between Burks' tibia and fibula, Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said.
The guard underwent surgery to repair his fractured left fibula last Dec. 29 and later had arthroscopic surgery to clean out debris from his left knee and ankle on June 8. While Burks and the Jazz were optimistic about the player's health at the start of training camp, the sixth-year guard was still dealing with pain in his leg.
"When he would hit a certain threshold dynamically or hit a threshold with how long his workout went, he started to experience some pain," Lindsey said. "We feel terrible for Alec because he's done everything we've asked … [but] we expect the debris was the issue."
The Jazz had hoped Burks might finally enjoy an injury-free season after having each of his past two campaigns cut short.
"You feel bad for Alec and everything he's been through to try to get healthy," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.
In 2014-15, Burks played 27 games after injuring his shoulder and requiring surgery. Last season, Burks was limited 31 games when a hard foul by Clippers forward Paul Pierce set the Jazzman crashing to the floor last December.
"That fall was major trauma," Lindsey said. "… So there has certainly been some residual" issues over the past 10 months.
Burks, the Jazz's first-round pick in 2011, signed a four-year extension deal in 2014 worth more than $42 million. And the guard, who averaged 13.3 points and shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc in limited action last season, figured to be the Jazz's sixth man this year, providing a scoring punch off the bench.
"Obviously he was a player we had plans for when we put the team together," Snyder said.
Burks' surgery was performed in New York City by ankle specialist Martin O'Malley. The 25-year-old Burks will now return to Salt Lake City to resume his rehabilitation work.
The Jazz have not given any timeline for his return to playing.
Twitter: @aaronfalk