DeMarre Carroll Injury: Updates on Raptors Forward's Recovery from Knee Surgery

Joseph ZuckerJan 6, 2016

Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll has undergone surgery on a troublesome right knee. It is uncertain when he will be able to return to action.

Continue for updates.

Latest on Carroll's Recovery Timeline

Wednesday, Jan. 6

Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star reported an estimated recovery time of six-to-eight weeks for Carroll. Kyle Lowry told Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun that Carroll wishes he'd had surgery sooner to be better prepared to play in the playoffs.

Carroll Undergoes Surgery

Wednesday, Jan. 6

The Raptors announced that Carroll had arthroscopic surgery today, and that his "status will be updated as appropriate." Carroll sat out of Monday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a "sore right knee."

Carroll also bruised the same knee in December, keeping him off the court for a stretch.

Carroll's Injury Opens Door for Ross to Solidify Role

Although you could understand why the Raptors signed the forward for four years and $60 million after his great work with the Atlanta Hawks, the move still felt somewhat unnecessary since Toronto already had a bit of a wing surplus.

Plus, at 29 years old, you wonder whether Carroll can be much better than he was last year when he averaged 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds and shot 39.5 percent from three-point range. Carroll wasn't the Hawks' best player in 2014-15, but he was among Atlanta's most versatile and thus most valuable.

Still, it's somewhat surprising that Carroll's numbers have already begun to dip just one year into his new deal. His points (11.7) and rebounds (4.8) aren't significantly declining, but his shooting has dropped quite a bit, from 48.7 percent last year to 38.8 percent with the Raptors.

According to NBA.com, Toronto has also been a better defensive team with Carroll off the court, which is shocking, given how good a perimeter defender he was just a season ago.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey will look to Terrence Ross to pick up the slack at the 3 in Carroll's absence.

If Carroll is forced to miss a lot of time, this could be Ross' chance to truly cement himself as a valued member of the Raptors rotation after signing a three-year, $33 million extension earlier in the year.