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.
NEWS: An MRI taken this afternoon on #Twolves forward Jimmy Butler's right knee revealed a meniscal injury. Further updates as to Butler's progress will be issued when more information becomes available. pic.twitter.com/IG3l9cODmb
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) February 24, 2018
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.
The big question will be does Jimmy Butler have the injury removed (shorter timeline) or repaired (months-long recovery).
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 24, 2018
To be clear (actually, less clear): Wolves didn't say meniscus was torn in release. They just say there was a "meniscal injury." We'll await word on treatment options. Definitely not worst-case scenario, but still likely a decent absence for Butler
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 24, 2018
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.
Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler has a meniscus tear in his right knee and is determining treatment options, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 24, 2018
