CLEVELAND, Dec. 26 -- The Cleveland Cavaliers placed center Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the injured list Tuesday, just two days after being diagnosed with a broken foot for the fourth time in his five-year NBA career.
To fill his spot on its roster, Cleveland activated rookie center Chris Mihm.
The 25-year-old Ilgauskas took himself out of Friday's 103-95 loss to Miami after experiencing sudden pain in his left foot. He returned to Cleveland on Saturday for tests, which revealed a new fracture in the same foot on which he underwent season-ending surgery last year.
The 7-3 Lithuanian, who was averaging 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, will be sidelined indefinitely, pending further tests to determine the appropriate treatment. His history of foot problems began before he even played a game in the NBA. He missed what should have been his rookie season in 1996-97 because of a broken bone in his right foot.
Ilgauskas returned for the 1997-98 season and managed to play in all 82 games, averaging 13.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per outing and being named to the All-Rookie First Team.
But his foot problems resurfaced less than a year later after he signed a six-year, $70.9 million deal with the Cavaliers.
Ilgauskas played just five games during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season before suffering a broken left foot which sidelined him the rest of that year, and all of last season. He returned this season and had started Cleveland's first 24 games, averaging 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Mihm, the Cavaliers' No. 1 pick out of Texas this year, was placed on the injured list Dec. 15 because of a high right ankle sprain. He has averaged 4.4 points in 14 games thus far.
