Report: Hawks G-F Johnson out with calf injury

Mar 9, 2007 - 12:31 AM Atlanta (Ticker) -- All-Star swingman Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks could be sidelined for up to a month with a right calf contusion, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on its web site Thursday.

Johnson suffered the injury when teammate Estaben Batista kicked him in the leg during Monday's 88-81 loss to the Miami Heat. Johnson, who leads the team in scoring, missed Wednesday's win over Washington.

"We've been down this road all season," Hawks coach Mike Woodson told the newspaper. "We'll have to battle as best we can without Joe just like we did when other guys were out. But there's no question that this hurts in a big way, because Joe is such a big part of what we're about."

An All-Star for the time this season, Johnson had missed four games earlier with a strain to the same calf from December 10-15.

The 26-year-old Johnson is averaging a career-high 25.0 points and 4.4 assists through 57 contests in his second season with Atlanta.