Kevin Durant Injury: Updates on Thunder Star's Foot and Status
Kevin Durant exited the Oklahoma City Thunder's game against the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 19 in the fourth quarter with an injury to his surgically repaired foot. He underwent a foot procedure on Feb. 22 and has undergone another, season-ending procedure that will see him sidelined for the next four to six months.
Continue for updates.
Durant Discusses Injury
Thursday, April 16
Durant discussed his injury and some of what he thinks may have caused it, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman:
Durant Ruled Out for Season, Undergoes Another Procedure
Tuesday, March 31
The Thunder announced Tuesday that Durant underwent successful surgery on his foot:
"Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant underwent successful bone graft surgery today for the fifth metatarsal of his right foot, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley with Thunder medical personnel present at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Durant will miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season and is expected to return to full basketball activities in the next four to six months.
"
Durant posted a message on Twitter following the announcement:
Durant also took to Instagram to talk to fans, with the caption:
"Not what I envisioned coming into this season. But I'm here and ready to conquer this journey. I've heard it all over the last few weeks, but I'm not here to prove anything to anybody, im battling myself. When quit and negativity are staring me in my face, i will stay strong and disciplined. And I won't do it on my own, my closest and friends and family are here to help and that's something I will be forever grateful for. I appreciate all the well wishes from all of you guys, I appreciate it. This is just a small obstacle when I look at the big picture. THANKS TO ALL MY NBA BROTHERS THAT REACHED OUT, means a lot to me. Road to recovery. GO THUNDER, I can't wait to play with my teammates again. LETS DO THIS
"
On March 27, The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com reported that Durant would miss the remainder of the season after another foot procedure:
On March 20, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on SportsCenter (h/t ESPN's Ramona Shelburne) that Durant's return was being pushed back.
Keaton Fox of Fox 25 provided a synopsis of what general manager Sam Presti had to say on Durant's status: "KD is being removed from basketball activities on the floor. Not making progress he had hope [sic]. Still has soreness."
Durant Undergoes Foot Procedure
Sunday, Feb. 22
"Kevin Durant underwent a procedure on Feb. 22 on his right foot to help reduce pain and discomfort," ESPN.com's Royce Young reported on Sunday. "He'll be re-evaluated in a week."
Young provided further details, noting, "Durant's procedure was to replace the screw he had in his foot with a new one. It's unrelated to his foot fracture that he had surgery on."
He also shared some perspective from general manager Sam Presti:
"General manager Sam Presti said Durant's fracture was healing "perfectly" and this procedure was done to help alleviate pain and discomfort.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) February 22, 2015"
According to SI.com's Chris Mannix, Durant is expected to miss at least a week, and the team stated the "injury is healing fine."
Durant Experiences Discomfort in Foot
Thursday, Feb. 19
Entering the 2014-15 season, Durant was a pillar of consistency. In his first seven years in the league, he missed a total of 14 regular-season games. This year, however, the Thunder star has suffered from a few different maladies, most notably the Jones fracture in his right foot.
Royce Young of ESPN provided comments from Durant following the game:
Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman described the scene during the game and passed along comments from Thunder GM Sam Presti:
Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman indicated Durant was battling discomfort throughout the game:
Few players are more important to their respective teams than Durant is to the Thunder. It's no coincidence Oklahoma City had such a poor start to the regular season and remains in a dogfight for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
