Three Oklahoma City player — guard Lu Dort, guard Ty Jerome, and forward Mike Muscala — are done for the 2021-22 season. Per a release from the team, all three players underwent surgeries that will sideline for the rest of the season.
Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Update
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Dort, who is viewed as an important piece to the Thunder’s future, underwent surgery to fix a labrum tear in his left shoulder and is expected to be ready to play by the start of next season. Jerome, meanwhile, underwent surgery to fix a sports hernia and will be able to return to basketball activities in about eight weeks, while Muscala underwent an arthroscopic procedure and additional lateral ligament repair on his injured right ankle. He is also expected to be ready for the start of the 2022-23 season.
According to Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, the surgeries all happened on the same day.
“The physicians that we lean on in those situations are pretty active in sports medicine,” Daigneault said per The Oklahoman. “They were all at the NFL Combine, which happened to be the last couple weeks. The consultations that our guys needed to get with those physicians were delayed, and then were all kind of synced up in terms of timing and therefore synced up the surgery time. ”
The Thunder, at 20-44 on the season, are firmly out of the playoff picture and are assuredly more worried about developing their youngsters. With their current record, they are the second-worst team in the Western Conference and possess the fourth-worst record in the league, behind only the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, and Detroit Pistons.