The Timberwolves Announced Jimmy Butler Suffered A Meniscal Injury In His Right Knee (UPDATE)

Basketball fans in Minnesota held their collective breaths on Friday night, as Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler went down with what looked to be a non-contact knee injury against Houston. Butler was down on the ground in serious pain and had to be assisted to the locker room by a pair of teammates. Even worse, he was unable to put any weight on his right leg.

When those situations come about, everyone assumes the worst and that the player might have torn a ligament in their knee. But on Saturday afternoon, the Timberwolves gave an update on Butler’s status, and in relatively good news, the All-Star wing didn’t tear his ACL or MCL.

Still, Butler seems primed for an extended absence, as Minnesota announced Butler suffered a meniscus injury in his knee. The team did not give a timetable for Butler’s return, instead saying that more information will be released as it becomes available.

As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic noted, there are two possible courses of treatment for this, and made it a point to clarify that the team didn’t say Butler tore anything.

Basketball is more fun when Butler is on the floor, so hopefully he is able to bounce back from this injury and play again before the season is over.

UPDATE: Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports has some bad news regarding Butler’s injury. As it turns out, Butler did indeed suffer a tear in his meniscus.