Blazers' Anfernee Simons Out 6 Weeks After Successful Surgery on Thumb Injury

Portland Trail Blazers star Anfernee Simons will be sidelined for at last six weeks after undergoing successful right thumb surgery on Tuesday, the franchise announced.

Simons had to undergo surgery to fix a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb.

The 24-year-old injured his thumb in a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last week. He finished the game with 18 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals in just over 27 minutes.

The injury is a tough blow for the Trail Blazers as Simons was expected to shoulder much of the offensive load following the trade that sent superstar guard Damian Lillard from Portland to the Milwaukee Bucks.

With Simons sidelined, Shaedon Sharpe has started Portland's last three games, averaging 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in that span while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from deep.

"Shae just needs to go out there and play as hard as he can, be aggressive," Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups told reporters last week. "We want him aggressive on both sides of the ball, whether he's come off the bench or he's starting. His development, he came a long ways last year, this is Year Two, so obviously we expect more out of him."

Scoot Henderson, the 2023 No. 3 overall pick, will also be called upon to pick up the slack with Sharpe sidelined. Through four games, the rookie point guard is averaging 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and just 5.6 percent from deep.

"I'm the point guard so I got to get everybody involved and do what I have to do on both ends of the floor," Henderson said last week. "I think for this team, losing Ant is one thing but I think, for Shae and us, we've just got to step it up, simple as that."

The Trail Blazers are 1-3 on the season, with their lone win coming against the Toronto Raptors. They'll be back in action on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons.