An injury suffered late in the 2020-21 NBA season could cost Pascal Siakam some time when the following year tips off. The Toronto Raptors announced on Friday afternoon that Siakam suffered a torn labrum during the team’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies on May 8, and as a result, the All-Star forward needed surgery.
In a bit of good news, the Raptors said Siakam’s injury went off without a hitch, and he is now on the road to recovery.
Pascal Siakam injury update. pic.twitter.com/GX8LrbnDqt
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 11, 2021
A timetable of five months for rehabilitation and recovery would mean that things bleed into the 2021-22 campaign. The NBA told teams on Thursday that it anticipates next season will begin on October 19, and if Siakam is out for the entirety of the five-month timetable, that would put his return sometime in mid-November.
In a statement that applied to most everyone on the Raptors due to the unfortunate circumstances under which they played last season, Siakam hardly had his best year. Having said that, he still averaged 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.1 steals in 35.8 minutes per game. While everyone in Toronto will hope to take last year’s struggles and put them in the past, that will particularly be true for Siakam, and should he get back to the level that he showed in past campaigns, it’s not hard to imagine last year’s playoff-less campaign being a blip on the radar.