Gov. Doug Burgum injured playing basketball, but he still hopes to debate

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum was injured during a pick-up basketball game with his staff Tuesday and was taken to an emergency room in Milwaukee, on the eve of the first Republican presidential primary debate, according to a source familiar with his injury and a campaign source.

He spent several hours in the emergency room to treat a leg injury, according to a source close to Burgum, and he is seeing whether he's capable of getting on his feet. A campaign source

Burgum tore his Achilles tendon, according to a campaign spokesman. He went on his debate walk-through on crutches. It looks like he will be able to attend the debate but has a doctor's appointment this afternoon beforehand. 

CNN first reported Burgum's injury.

In a social media post, Burgum thanked well wishers for their support after his injury.

I’ve played lots of pick-up games in my day! This isn’t the first time one has sent me to the ER. Appreciate all the well-wishes! 🇺🇸#TeamBurgum pic.twitter.com/5YL3rCEnCd

— Doug Burgum (Text "DOUG" to 70177) (@DougBurgum) August 23, 2023

Burgum, in order to meet the donor threshold set by the Republican National Committee, offered donors $20 gift cards for $1 donations. The first debate required candidates to collect 40,000 individual donors, with at least 200 unique donors per state, as well as poll at 1% in three RNC-sanctioned polls, or 1% in two other national polls and two polls from key states. 

Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.

Fin Gómez

Fin Gómez is CBS News' political director.

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