The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without Kevin Durant for the rest of the season, as the team announced that the star will undergo another foot surgery procedure and that will keep him out for at least four to six months.
Durant has been out since February after having a surgical procedure to help with soreness in his foot and that came after he started the season on the sidelines after he had a procedure to repair a Jones fracture. According to ESPN.com, the pain stemmed from a screw inserted during that October procedure and earlier in the season he missed the start of the year and now he will be out for the rest of the regular season and will not be able to play in the playoffs if OKC makes it.
The report says that Durant will be out for up to six months and he will have the surgery next week. General manager Sam Presti announced the news and it came after he previously said that the team had shut down Durant from any basketball activities. Russell Westbrook has been stepping up in Durant's absence and now he will be needed even more.
Durant previously was working his way back on the court and he was practicing with the team on a limited basis. The soreness would not go away for Durant and now he will be out for the season. Durant previously was averaging 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 27 games this season.
"With the focus of this process being aimed entirely on Kevin's long term health and stability, it was the consensus of the specialists team, in addition to a collective decision by Kevin, his representation and the Thunder, that to address the setback of the fracture site, a bone graft procedure would be the most proactive and recommended approach," Presti said, according to ESPN. "The bone graft is the standard procedure for the five to eight percent of Jones fracture surgeries that do not initially have success or experience setbacks sometime within the recovery period."
