Following the abrupt announcement earlier this month that he would be taking a leave of absence from the team, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr finally offered some clarity on his ongoing health issues Sunday during a media session. His doctors are reportedly confident that he will eventually make a full recovery, but there is currently no timetable for his return. Via Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com:
“I had a spinal fluid leak during the first surgery,” he told the media Sunday at the Warriors’ practice facility. “It’s very rare, it does happen occasionally, but it happens when there’s an accidental nick of the dura that surrounds the spinal cord. But I lost spinal fluid, took about a month to figure out what was going on, a lot of headaches, some other symptoms.”
After the leak became apparent, Kerr had an additional surgery Sept. 4 to repair the issue.
“The leak is fixed, but still getting some symptoms, but that’s why I’m out,” he said.
Kerr said he is feeling better.
“I wanted to just tell you guys what I’m going through, what’s happened. Because I think there’s kind of a gray area, people wondering what’s going on,” he said.
However, he would not put a definitive timetable on when he’ll return to coaching the defending NBA champions.
The Warriors have five preseason games remaining, beginning Tuesday at home versus the Denver Nuggets. Their first regular season game is on opening night, October 27, against the New Orleans Pelicans. Golden State assistant Luke Walton has been named acting head coach on an interim basis until Kerr is healthy enough to return.
