The only thing that could possibly stop Russell Westbrook this season? Injuries. After the MVP candidate took a knee to the head during last night’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers that left a noticeable dent in his face, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced that Westbrook underwent a procedure to fix a cheek fracture and will be sidelined indefinitely.
The 26 year-old will miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers before being re-evaluated later next week.
Below are pertinent details of the Thunder’s press release.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook underwent a successful procedure today to address a fracture to the zygomatic arch of his right cheek, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced.
The procedure was performed by Dr. John Joseph Rehm and Dr. Jason Hamilton with Thunder medical personnel present at the Osborne Head and Neck Institute in Los Angeles, Calif. Westbrook will miss tomorrow’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers and will be re-evaluated later this week.
Westbrook suffered the injury while crashing the glass for a potential carom of his free throw attempt with 2.5 seconds remaining in Oklahoma City’s 115-112 loss to Portland. He was knocked the ground upon entering the scrum in the paint, and subsequently rose to play defense after his free throw finally rolled through and the Blazers began to inbound the ball. That’s when Andre Roberson’s knee made full contact with his face, rendering a noticeable dent.
The point guard didn’t speak to reporters after the game, instead undergoing initial rounds of testing by team medical personnel.
Though a timeline for his recovery is unknown, that Westbrook’s procedure was relatively minor is a good sign considering the superficial extent of his injury. An orbital fracture, like one suffered by Rajon Rondo late last month, would likely have kept the UCLA product from the floor longer than one simply involving his cheek.
The news on Westbrook is pretty good, I'd say. Considering the way it looked, this had six-week timetable written all over it.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) February 28, 2015
At 32-27, Scott Brooks’ team sits at eighth-place in the West – with the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns each within a game of its record. It goes without saying that the Thunder need every win they can get with spring fast approaching, and also that they’ll be hard to come by until at least one of Westbrook and Kevin Durant return to the lineup.
Fortunately, Durant’s right foot will be re-assessed by medical personnel tomorrow. Though it hardly seems like it now, there exists a chance that both the reigning MVP and one of this season’s leading candidates will be back in the lineup for Oklahoma City by next week’s end.
We can’t wait.
[Thunder]
