Doctor explains Melton’s ACL injury, possible Warriors return timeline originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
De’Anthony Melton will watch the Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies will miss Friday night due to a left MCL sprain, and his status beyond that remains unknown.
The 26-year-old Warriors guard will undergo further testing, the team announced Thursday, to determine the severity of the injury he suffered in the second quarter of Golden State’s win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
As Dub Nation eagerly awaits the decisive details, Stanford Medicine’s Dr. Geoffrey Abrams, MD, spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area and discussed some of the possible consequences of the injury and a possible timeline for recovery.
“ACL sprains can come in many variations,” said Dr. Abrams. “Obviously I didn’t see the MRI or be part of his care, it could be anything from a mild sprain with just a little inflammation around the ligament, one of the main ligaments around the knee. For very minor ligament sprains, if there are no major structural problems, may actually only last a few weeks.
“For higher quality tears where there is concern about structural integrity, that really takes a different path and may take many weeks before surgery is even possible if there are significant structural issues with that ligament.”
Melton is averaging 10.3 points on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent from three-point range with 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in six games in his first season with the Warriors.
He was inserted into coach Steve Kerr’s starting lineup at the shooting guard spot the past two games and has filled in nicely next to Steph Curry, averaging 16.5 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from beyond. center, with seven rebounds and three assists. and two steals in 26.6 minutes.
Dr. Abrams further explained the rehabilitation timeline options that depend on the severity of Melton’s injury.
“The ACL, the ligament we’re talking about, is very important for cutting and twisting activities, so if you do that as if you were playing basketball all the time, that ligament is one of the main supports of the knee when you do that. you,” he said. “So if the ligament gets injured, it can lead to knee instability, for example, you might feel your knee shifting a little bit under you if that ligament is damaged.
“With minor ACL sprains there shouldn’t be any significant structural compromise of the knee, so I would be surprised if it was just a minor sprain that he would feel that. But there is a whole rehabilitation timeline that has to be gone through in terms of to get the muscles around the knee strong and heal that ligament.”
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