Andre Drummond injury: Pistons rookie leaves game with sore back

The Detroit Pistons were once again trounced by the New York Knicks on Monday, this time losing 99-85. More concerning, however, was that Andre Drummond, the Pistons promising big man, left the game with a sore back.

Drummond played only eight minutes in the contest and while the likes of Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire were pushing several Pistons players around in the paint, many fans were left scratching their heads as Drummond sat on the sideline.

It wasn't until late in the fourth quarter that news came out about Drummond's back issue, and Fox Sports Detroit's Ryan Field had it first on Twitter:

Andre Drummond has a sore back and will not return tonight. #Pistons

— Ryan Field (@RyanFieldFSD) February 5, 2013

The back issue, apparently, is nothing new for Drummond. He first complained of back soreness way back in the summer league. This could at least partially explain the limited minutes seen so far for the insanely productive Drummond but the coaching staff nor the beat writers covering the team have really talked about any recurring or problematic back issue since the summer league. Hopefully, this won't be limiting in any major way going forward as Drummond has been the most exciting story of the season for the lowly Pistons.

It would be a shame if once the Pistons finally got a legitimate point guard (Jose Calderon) that could make things so easy for the athletic and talented seven-footer, Drummond is forced to miss an extended period of time.

UPDATE: Drummond says he hurt it on Sunday while trying to block Steve Blake, but should be good to go on Wednesday.