Thunder Roster & NBA News: Kevin Durant to Miss 24 Games for Foot Injury?
After undergoing surgery for his Jones fracture which was diagnosed over the weekend, Oklahoma City Thunder player Kevin Durant is expected to not participate in about 16 to 24 games in the NBA.
On Thursday, the Thunder star finally decided to have surgery at the OrthoCarolina Foot and Ankle Clinic in Charlotte, CBS Sports reported.
His surgery, which connected his bones with a screw, went well but the player's condition will be reevaluated after six weeks -- the expected time frame for his fracture to heal. It was reported that this kind of injury is prone to a re-fracture so doctors advised Durant to wait until his injury fully heals before playing basketball again.
According to ESPN, the Thunder already anticipated this scenario for Durant since it said that the player only had a "slim chance" of avoiding surgery based from the advice of the doctors he consulted.
On his Twitter account, Durant thanked all the people who prayed for him. "Successful surgery, thanks for all the prayers and concerns! Headed back to okc. Move em."
He also expressed high hopes on his Instagram account that he will be able to return to the games soon.
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I'll be back but for now I'm sittin back with my skins blankey and some sparkling ice with my homeboys @dbrookssss, @yeahlano, @thegoodz12 and @strackfamilyof6
"I'll be back but for now I'm sittin back with my skins blankey and some sparkling ice with my homeboys," read the caption of a photo of him in a hospital bed with his right foot covered by a cast.
CBS Sports said that if the recovery schedule will be followed, Durant will be back on the court on Dec. 11. Fox Sports noted that the player will still be able to participate in the remaining 65 games of the season.
With his absence, the team is already considering who will replace Durant as a starting player. Fox Sports said that it may likely be Perry Jones since he already started in six games last season. Aside from Jones, Reggie Jackson is another possible replacement for Durant since he is also a very good offensive player.
Many reports indicated that the team will have a hard time performing offensively well without Durant but Thunder general manager Sam Presti reportedly said that they will do their best to make up for the star player's absence.
"We're really fortunate that we're catching it when we're catching it. We are very fortunate that Kevin notified us [Saturday] and that we're kind of catching it on the front end, before this became more of an acute issue," Presti told ESPN.