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The Warriors will be without Steph Curry for at least the next two games, both against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday and Wednesday at Chase Center.
After that? It is unclear when the superstar point guard will return to the field.
The Warriors announced Monday that Curry suffered a strained left peroneal ankle during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and will miss both games against New Orleans before being re-evaluated Friday.
NBC Sports Bay Area recently spoke with Stanford Medicine orthopedic and sports surgeon David E. Oji, who provided insight into Curry’s peroneal injury, what it involves and how long the 36-year-old could be sidelined.
“Based on a simple mechanism that Steph basically had, he could injure a lot of structures,” Dr. Oji told NBC Sports Bay Area on Monday. “It’s not just the typical ankle sprain that we all think of when people roll their ankle. There are tendons on the outside, called peroneal tendons, that allow you to sort of move your foot outward, called eversion.
“And you can really strain these structures, or essentially pull them. You might even have small tears along the tendons. In some cases, this tendon is attached to the bone. You can also break the bone directly from the base, but many things can happen from a simple ankle sprain.
photo via jeffreypengmd.com
Even though the Warriors will re-evaluate Curry on Friday, that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be cleared and available for Saturday’s game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. As Dr. Oji points out, the injury – depending on its severity – could sideline Curry for at least a full week.
“In my experience treating similar injuries… if they have some sort of very simple tendon strain without a specific tear, it could be as simple as one to two weeks of intensive rehab and making sure they are comfortable, the mechanics are back and where they are supposed to be and the strength is 100 percent to get them back into the game,” Oji said.
“If there is a small tear or larger injury noted on imaging, healing may take much longer and it may take up to several weeks or even months.”
Fortunately for Curry and the Warriors, the injury does not appear serious. After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr provided an early update on Curry, straight from the Source.
“He’s fine,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “…He used the word ‘mild’ or ‘moderate’ – he’s obviously sprained his ankle a few times before. He doesn’t think it’s too serious. But obviously, it’s a concern.
The Warriors, in their first update Monday, said Curry’s MRI showed no structural damage, which is certainly good news.
It remains to be seen how long the injury will sideline him.
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