Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers Star, Out 4-6 Weeks With Broken Hand After Punch

Blake Griffin has been nursing a quadricep injury every since the Los Angeles Clippers' Christmas day win over the Los Angeles Lakers--an injury he was set to return to from in the teams recent road trip. However, Griffin experienced another set back that will see him miss a further 4-6 weeks of game time. He broke his hand after reportedly hitting a member of the teams staff over an argument the two had.

Shortly after the Clippers confirmed the break in Griffins hand, the power forward took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction in the way he handled the situation, and thanked his teammates and fans for helping create a distraction through this tough time.

"A situation among friends escalated and I regret the way I handled myself towards someone I care about. I want to apologize to the Clippers organization, my teammates and the fans for creating a distraction. I am working with the team on a resolution and getting back in the game as soon as possible."

ESPN reported that the incident with Griffin involved the Clippers' assistant equipment manager, Matias Testi. The pair--who are said to be good friends, and have even vacationed with one another in the past--were at a restaurant when an argument broke out, resulting in Griffin throwing more than one punch. 

The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Clippers, as they had worked their way back into fourth place in the ever tough Western Conference. Clippers coach Doc Rivers expressed his disappointment in regards to the incident.

"You don't want it to happen to anyone, and you obviously don't want it to happen during the season or even when the season is not going on," Rivers told reporters on Tuesday. "This type of stuff shouldn't happen, but it did, and it's real life, and you have to deal with real life sometimes in our make-believe world."

Griffin underwent X-rays on his hand on Monday back in Los Angeles, and underwent a procedure to repair "a spiral fracture of the fourth metacarpal" the next day. He will not only miss considerable time with the Clippers, but he'll also be out of the All-Star game on Feb. 14 in Toronto.

The Clippers will undergo a full investigation to see if any further action needs to be taken.