Wembanyama MRI clears knee, but Spurs hit with big warning
An MRI on Thursday showed that San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama did not suffer ligament damage to his left knee after hyperextending it late in Wednesday’s win over the New York Knicks, league sources told ESPN. Despite the clean scan, the team elected to keep Wembanyama in San Antonio to access treatment at Victory Capital Performance Center, and he did not travel to Indianapolis for Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. The Spurs officially listed him out for that matchup; he is expected to be listed as questionable for Saturday’s home game against the Portland Trail Blazers and is considered day-to-day with left knee soreness.
Wembanyama sustained the injury with 10:32 remaining against the Knicks while battling for a rebound with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson. He grabbed his left knee on the floor, received assistance from teammate Stephon Castle to stand, and was able to hobble to the locker room under his own power. He told fans at Frost Bank Center, “I’ll be all right,” then returned to the bench in warmups and slides and finished the game with 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes. Afterward he described the issue as a hyperextension and characterized it as minimal.
The team’s cautious approach follows an earlier absence this season: Wembanyama missed 12 games with a left calf strain before returning Dec. 13 during the NBA Cup semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Since coming back, he began with six games off the bench before making his first start on Dec. 27. Through the season he leads the Spurs in scoring (24.0 points per game), rebounding (11.6) and blocks (3.0), underlining his importance to the roster and the reason for the team’s careful management of his status.
For now, the MRI results remove the most serious short-term concern by confirming no ligament damage, but the Spurs are treating his knee soreness conservatively. The team’s plan is to utilize the club’s performance center for treatment and reassess day to day ahead of Saturday’s game in San Antonio, with an updated availability designation to follow as his recovery progresses.
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