Damian Lillard is headed under the knife. According to a report by Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Lillard, who has been dealing with a lingering case of lower abdominal tendinopathy that has sidelined him for stretches this season, has decided to turn to surgery as a way to get the situation resolved.
Despite the fact that he will undergo a procedure, though, Windhorst reports that Lillard might not be shut down for the remainder of the year, with his return to action to be determined.
Damian Lillard is planning to have surgery in the near future to address a lingering abdominal injury, sources told ESPN. The procedure isn’t expected to be season-ending but that is to be determined.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 12, 2022
Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo, Lillard will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks post-surgery.
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard will undergo surgery tomorrow to address his abdomen injury and he will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks, league sources @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 12, 2022
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups recently floated the possibility that Lillard might need to have some sort of extended time off to properly recover from the injury, telling the press “I think what we’re gonna do is just kind of meet, put all our heads together soon and then talk through some of those things. I think that’s probably gonna be the route that we go if he doesn’t get some kind of relief there.”
Lillard has played in 29 of the Blazers’ 40 games this season, which includes each of Portland’s last five. The Blazers currently sit at 16-24 on the season. Even when he has played, though, Lillard hasn’t quite looked like himself, as he’s averaging 24 points and 7.3 assists per game this season while connecting on a career-low 32.4 percent of his attempts from three.