yi jianlian takes elbow to the face, needs fifty stitches

Ouch. New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian was elbowed in the mouth at practice by teammate Sean Williams, opening up a gash inside Yi's upper lip that required 50 stitches to repair: Nets' Yi faces 1-week setback in return.

Definitely an unlucky turn of events. The injury will force Yi to miss at least an additional week after he was expected to return Sunday against the Knicks or Tuesday at Chicago. He's been out of commission for five weeks with a sprained right knee.

Reports differed on whether the injury happened during a three-on-three or two-on-two drill, but basically, Yi went up to contest a dunk attempt by the 6-foot-10 Williams, the two collided as Yi got a piece of the ball and Williams' dunk attempt missed.

Yi, a trooper, apparently wanted to continue playing but was told to seek medical attention. Yeah, when your mouth is split open and gushing blood, it would be good to get that looked at. Damn. Fifty stitches!