Blazers’ Outlaw out indefinitely with stress fracture

Portland Trail Blazers forward Travis Outlaw has a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot, according to the team.

Outlaw, who was forced out of Saturday’s road game against the Charlotte Bobcats due to the injury, will return to Portland for further evaluation. He is out indefinitely.

The sixth-year small forward averaged 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 23.1 minutes through 10 games. A regular back up for Brandon Roy and Martell Webster, Outlaw has been a key contributor on a Blazers second unit that has helped ignine the team’s fast start. His points total ranked third on the Blazers, who were 7-3 and had won five consecutive games heading into Saturday’s contest against the Bobcats.

Outlaw’s place in the rotation will likely be filled by committee, with players such as veteran Juwan Howard and rookie Dante Cunningham picking up minutes.

Outlaw’s injury initially appears to be the same that plagued Webster last year. Webster missed nearly the entire 2008-09 due to a broken bone in his left foot and complications that followed.

The 6-foot-9, 207-pound Outlaw is in the final year of his contract with the Blazers. He is set to make $3.6 million in 2009-10. The 25-year-old native of Starkville, Miss., was chosen by the Blazers with the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft.

Outlaw is the third Portland forward this season to deal with a significant injury. Nicolas Batum, who was slated as the regular-season starter, and rookie Jeff Pendergraph are also sidelined, leaving the Blazers with a lack of depth at the small and power forward positions.