John Wall’s season didn’t go as planned. Now that he’ll approach this next one fully healthy, maybe the Washington Wizards will live up to the expectations associated with their level of talent.
The team announced Thursday morning that Wall recently underwent minor surgeries on each of his knees and will start rehabilitation immediately. Barring any further and unforeseen complications, the three-time All-Star will be available to play at the beginning of 2016-17.
Pertinent details of Washington’s release on the matter are below.
The Washington Wizards announced that guard John Wall underwent a successful procedure today to excise calcific deposits in his left patella tendon in order to eliminate pain and assist healing… Wall also underwent an arthroscopic lavage on his right knee in order to remove loose bodies.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Richard D. Parker at the Cleveland Clinic Marymount following consultations with Dr. James Andrews, Dr. Josh Hackel and Wizards Head Team Physician Wiemi Douoguih.
“John’s procedure went very well and should allow him to play without pain once he has completed his rehabilitation,” said Parker. “We have worked closely with the Wizards’ medical and athletic training staff throughout this process to develop the plan he will need to follow this summer in order to resume his normal basketball activities.”
Wall played in the Wizards’ first 77 games of 2015-16 despite suffering through several different nagging injuries. Inexplicable pain in his right knee forced him to sit out the last five games of the regular season despite Washington fighting for a playoff berth. Wall was also sidelined for the first 33 games of the 2012-13 season after doctors discovered a non-traumatic stress injury in his left knee, which is presumably the initial cause of pain in his patella.
This offseason is the most important of any in recent memory for Washington. Not only does the organization have hopes of luring Kevin Durant back to his hometown in free agency, but also must contend with the restricted free agency of star shooting guard Bradley Beal – who is likely to command a max-level salary despite an injury history that has led some to believe he should play on a minutes restriction indefinitely.
The Wizards also need to make a decision whether to grant Otto Porter a contract extension before November, and will likely replace Nené with another big man on the free agent market. Jared Dudley, Ramon Sessions, and Alan Anderson are free agents, too. New coach Scott Brooks, basically, won’t know what his full roster will look like for some time.
Wall, though, will definitely be in Washington next season. And after preemptively going under the knife, there’s reason to expect he’ll have a clean bill of health for it, too.
(Via Wizards)
