Gordon Hayward explains what kept him out the last 2 Hornets games

Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward plans to play Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves (8 p.m., Fox Sports Southeast), after sitting out the last two games with a contusion on his shooting hand.

Hayward revealed Wednesday morning that the hard fall he took against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 22 was a direct blow to the spot on his right hand where he suffered an avulsion fracture in the preseason.

While he didn’t re-fracture his hand, the pain from that fall will take time to abate.

“It’s the exact same spot as the first one in the preseason,” Hayward said. “Playing in the next two games (Phoenix and Golden State after Utah) pretty much made it worse, aggravated it in a couple of new spots as well.”

Hayward said the injury became problematic, as far as his shooting and ballhandling, since it’s on his dominant hand. He is the Hornets’ leading scorer this season at 21.5 points per game.

He doesn’t anticipate any need for corrective surgery.

“We looked at everything, and there’s nothing that would require anything but rest,” Hayward said. “Time and treatment. It’s still definitely sore, but I plan on playing tonight on it.”

An avulsion fracture is not a break of a bone, but rather a piece of bone tearing away from a ligament or tendon. Hayward suffered that original injury — to the base of his right pinkie finger — in the preseason and did not miss the regular-season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Hornets list Hayward and center Cody Zeller as probable to play vs. the Timberwolves. Zeller missed the past two games with a hip contusion. Guard Devonte Graham will miss his seventh consecutive game with soreness in and around his left knee cap.

This is the Hornets’ last game before about a week off for the All-Star break.

Hayward, in the first of a four-year, $120 million contract, has missed four games this season. He also missed a game in January with a hip strain and in February with lower-back discomfort.