By Brendon Eagan

Another week, another season-ending injury for the Southland Sharks.

Just three weeks after losing New Zealand Breakers championship winner and talented American combo guard Kevin Braswell to a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Sharks have again been struck down by the injury curse with former NBA player Kaniel Dickens out for the remainder of their campaign.

Dickens left the court in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s win over Auckland at the ILT Velodrome after landing heavily on his left knee following a putback basket.

An X-ray over the weekend confirmed Dickens had fractured his patella and coach Richard Dickel said he would play no further part this season.

“It’s one of those those things that happens. It’s been the story of our season,” a frustrated Dickel said yesterday.

Dickens, who played 19 games in the NBA with Portland, New Jersey and Cleveland between 2003 and 2008, was hailed as one of the most high-profile signings to have played in New Zealand when he inked with the Sharks late last year.

Linking up with the team mid-season after finishing his playing commitments in Italy, Dickens made a quiet start, before finding his feet and starring against Taranaki and Otago, when he netted a combined 51 points and shot at over 50 per cent from both the field and three-point land.

He averaged 16.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in his seven games with the team and Dickel said he was gutted to lose the big American, who was beginning to hit his straps after taking a few games to adjust to the New Zealand style of basketball and officiating.

“He was starting to work into our systems. I thought he was starting to come right.

“He’s a good shooter,” Dickel said.

The Sharks are working hard to bring back power forward Sylvester Spicer, who was signed as a short-term import until Dickens arrived, and impressed with averages of 15 points and six rebounds in his six outings in the orange singlet.

National league rules stipulate that a player must have played five regular season games to be eligible for the top-six playoffs, which would allow Spicer to suit up.

Spicer is back home in Houston and is keen to return to New Zealand, but Sharks general manager Jill Bolger said it would all depend on financial circumstances.

“We’re crunching the numbers. If we can’t afford to do it, we won’t.”

They hoped to know by today and have Spicer available for the team’s next game against the Nelson Giants in Nelson on Saturday.

The Sharks’ playoff hopes would be severely affected if they did not replace Dickens as the team is pretty light on size in their front court.

Southland have three games left before the playoffs, with a double-header trip to Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu awaiting them next weekend to close out their campaign.

The Zero Fees-sponsored Sharks are locked in a three-way battle with Nelson and Manawatu for the fourth to sixth playoff seeds and Auckland also still have a mathematical chance of qualifying.

Southland require one more win to clinch a playoff berth, but will be looking to finish as high up the ladder as they can over the next fortnight.