Kent Smith / NBAE / Getty Images Gerald Wallace was carried off the court Friday and taken to Presbyterian Hospital.

Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace suffered a Grade 3 concussion on Friday against the Sacramento Kings and is experiencing a slight case of amnesia. To keep things in perspective, the Grade 3 ranking is the most serious concussion a person can suffer.

On a positive note, further tests at Presbyterian Hospital revealed no fractures and no bleeding. Never afraid to put his body on the line for his team, this is the fourth concussion that Wallace has suffered in his four years with the Bobcats.

“Injuries are part of the game, but you don’t want to see someone get hurt like that,” rookie Jared Dudley said. “But you saw when Gerald got hurt, Derek Anderson picked it up, I tried to do a little bit when I got in there. With any injury, it gives someone else an opportunity to step up. As you saw, people can do it. That’s why we all get paid. I just hope he gets back and gets healthy, because life is so much bigger than basketball.”

The injury occurred with 9:54 left in the third quarter after an inadvertent elbow by Kings forward Mikki Moore in the paint.

“All I saw was Mikki Moore trying to make a move to the middle,” Bobcats Head Coach Sam Vincent explained. “He aggressively swung his elbows toward the middle and it looked like he caught Gerald somewhere in the face. The play happened so fast, that I couldn’t really see all the details of it.
“I don’t think Mikki Moore was making a malicious play on Gerald Wallace, I think he was just trying to clear space and trying to get to the middle. He had his elbows high and Gerald was close to him on defense, and he just caught him with a nasty elbow.”

Wallace was immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation where he received a CAT-Scan and other test. He has been released and is now home resting. He will not accompany the team at Washington on Saturday. No timetable has been set for his return.

“We’ve just got to stay focused,” Bobcats guard Jason Richardson said. “Sometimes that’s how it goes. You may have a guy go down, but you’ve just got to be ready for it. I think guys like Derek (Anderson), Jared (Dudley) and Matt (Carroll) will step up.”

“It’s going to be tough. Gerald brings a lot of production and a lot of energy for us. He’s our leading scorer. We’ve got to have other guys step up, and I think other guys will step up.”