Wizards star John Wall to undergo knee procedure, miss at least two weeks
Washington Wizards point guard John Wall will undergo a procedure on his left knee, and the four-time All-Star is expected to miss at least the next two weeks, the team announced on Saturday.
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Wall experienced left knee discomfort and inflammation after bumping knees with a member of the Dallas Mavericks during their game on November 7, the team said. He has since played in seven of Washington’s eight games, including an overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night, when he scored 31 points and dished out 11 assists over a season-high 41 minutes of game action.
The 27-year-old already had his knee drained, but was still experiencing discomfort and missed Friday’s practice to undergo an MRI, per NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes. Wall is scheduled to receive platelet-rich plasma and viscosupplementation injections to reduce the inflammation.
Wall was complaining of left knee soreness after playing 27 effective minutes in a win over the Sacramento Kings on November 13, and then he offered this descriptive self-diagnosis after playing 35 minutes and shooting just 3-of-12 from the field in a loss to the Miami Heat two games later:
John Wall still feeling the ill effects of fluid in his left knee. Said he could barely move and blamed himself for the team's sluggish first half.
"I was looking like some butt out there."
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) November 18, 2017
Wall sat with left knee soreness in Washington’s next game against the Toronto Raptors, and then returned to the court for a pair of games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Hornets earlier this week.
Wall has suffered a series of knee injuries in his career. He missed the first two months of the 2012-13 season with a stress fracture in his left kneecap, and he underwent surgery on both knees in May 2016. He consulted the same doctor who performed his most recent surgeries for this latest injury.
Wall is averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game for Washington this season. Already thin at the point guard position, the Wizards will likely start journeyman Tim Frazier, who is averaging 3.2 points on 36.8 percent shooting and 3.9 assists in 16.6 minutes a night. He is the only other true point guard on the roster, so Tomas Satoransky may see time there as well.
The Wizards are scheduled to play eight games over the next weeks, starting with the Portland Trail Blazers at home on Saturday night and ending on a four-game West Coast road trip through Utah, Portland, Phoenix and Los Angeles, where they are slated to play the Clippers on December 9.
Washington currently owns a 10-8 record and is tied with the New York Knicks for the final two playoff spots in the East early this seaosn. The Wizards are 2-4 without Wall since the start of last season.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
