Kevin Durant Injury: Updates on Thunder Star's Foot and Return

Updates from Tuesday, Dec. 2

Scott Brooks confirmed that Kevin Durant will play for the first time this season tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans, via Marc Stein of ESPN:

Updates from Monday, Dec. 1

Royce Young of ESPN.com provided a synopsis of Thunder head coach Scott Brooks discussing Kevin Durant's recovery:

Updates from Friday, Nov. 28

Marc Berman of the New York Post has an update on Kevin Durant's status:

Updates from Monday, Nov. 24

Scott Brooks updated Kevin Durant's status as he recovers from his foot injury, via Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman:

Updates from Saturday, Nov. 22

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman provides a statement from Thunder head coach Scott Brooks discussing Kevin Durant's recovery:

Updates from Friday, Nov. 21

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News has the latest on Durant:

Updates from Thursday, Nov. 6

Royce Young of ESPN.com reported on Kevin Durant's recovery:

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 23

Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com confirms Kevin Durant is no longer wearing a cast to protect his injured foot:

Updates from Tuesday, Oct. 21

Royce Young of ESPN.com has an update on Durant's status:

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 16

Kevin Durant commented on the surgery he underwent Thursday:

Durant also showed a post-surgery image via Instagram:

Royce Young provided details on Durant's foot surgery:

"

Thunder just announced it: Durant has undergone successful surgery to repair his Jones fracture. He'll be re-evaluated in six weeks.

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 16, 2014"

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman spoke with coach Scott Brooks about the surgery:

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 15

Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reveals LeBron James offered his support to Durant:

Updates from Monday, Oct. 13

Sam Amick of USA Today has the latest on Durant:

"

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is still considering treatment options for the Jones fracture in his right foot and a decision about whether or not to have surgery won't likely be made on Monday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

The people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because a formal update had not been announced. Thunder general manager Sam Presti said on Sunday that "traditional treatment" of the injury typically required surgery and that the subsequent recovery time would likely be between six to eight weeks.

"

Original Text

Unfortunately for the Oklahoma City Thunder, seemingly the only thing capable of slowing down Kevin Durant has come to fruition: an injury.

The 26-year-old superstar, who won his first MVP award last season, is currently dealing with a foot injury. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman shared a statement from Thunder general manager Sam Presti:

WebMD provides details on how a Jones fracture differs from a more common fracture:

"

[The Jones fracture] is much less common but does not heal as well. This fracture gets worse with time if you keep walking on it, so non-weight bearing is very important. People with this fracture often (35-50% of the time) develop problems healing that require an operation.

"

Stephen Nelson and Bleacher Report's Will Carroll discuss Durant's timetable for return:

You aren't going to find many players in the NBA more irreplaceable than Durant. This injury is potentially calamitous for the Thunder, who are always a legitimate contender in the Western Conference as long as he's in the lineup.

As Tim Bontemps of the New York Post indicates, Durant's injury could have major implications on the 2014-15 NBA season:

One of the deadliest scorers the league has seen in a long time, Durant has continued to expand his game on both ends of the court.

Durant averaged an NBA-best 32 points per game last season to go with 7.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks and a career-high 5.5 assists per contest. He finished with a 63.5 true shooting percentage—ridiculous efficiency considering his usage—and led the league in PER (29.8), win shares (19.2) and win shares per 48 minutes (.295), surpassing LeBron James in MVP voting.

"He's basically put himself in front of everybody else in the league and shown that he's the best player in the world," teammate Russell Westbrook told reporters, via ESPN.com.

The Thunder have arguably the best trio in the league with Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, but it's been hard to keep all of them healthy at the same time. Westbrook has been hampered by knee problems, and Ibaka suffered an untimely calf injury during last year's playoffs.

OKC will likely turn to youngsters Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones to help fill the void, while Reggie Jackson could potentially see more minutes in a smaller lineup.

The Thunder have depth, but no matter who comes off that bench, it's a clear downgrade from one of the best players on the planet. It will be interesting to see how Scott Brooks and his staff adjust if Durant's injury lingers.