Boston (USA), May 10 (EFE) .- All-Star guard Jaylen Brown suffers a ligament tear in his left wrist and will miss the rest of the 2020-21 season, his team confirmed this Monday of the Boston Celtics.
Brown, who averaged a career-high 24.7 points on 48 percent shooting from the field so far this season, his best as a professional, was diagnosed with the injury over the weekend and is expected to undergo surgery. in the coming days.
The Celtics did not provide a schedule for Brown’s return, saying they will offer additional updates when appropriate.
However, Boston is familiar with the procedure, as point guard Romeo Langford had it on September 22.
Langford was ready to make his debut in mid-March before contracting Covid-19, roughly five and a half months after surgery.
A similar timeline for Brown would have him ready to return to the court in late October, around the expected start of the next season, as NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said he expects the league to return to his usual schedule.
Brown had missed the last three games with a sprained ankle after a terrifying collision with Boston’s other young power forward Jayson Tatum in the last minute of a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on May 2. .
But Brown playing in that game reached the threshold of 58 played which was what he needed to qualify and receive a bonus of $ 446,429 on his contract.
Brown’s injury adds to what has been a frustrating season for the Celtics, who are seventh in the Eastern Conference heading into Tuesday’s home game against the Miami Heat.
If Miami, which won in Boston on Sunday, wins again on Tuesday, it would almost guarantee that the Celtics will be part of the NBA’s inaugural play-in tournament that begins next week.
Boston has dealt with a variety of Covid-19 injuries and issues throughout the season.
Brown will end up missing 14 games with various injuries; He was repeatedly included in the injury report with nuisance problems during the second half of the season.
Tatum contracted Covid-19 in January and has consistently faced the challenges that have come his way since returning, including the need to use an inhaler.
The team’s main acquisition at the trade deadline, French forward Evan Fournier, also contracted Covid-19 and has dealt with the lingering effects of the virus that he described as similar to having a concussion.
Point guard Marcus Smart missed 18 games with a right calf injury, costing him the entire competition last February.
At the beginning of the season, point guard Kemba Walker was delayed by an offseason right knee strengthening program, which has forced him to rest in the second half of every consecutive game they have played on consecutive nights, being subjected to to injury recovery plan.
The result is a team that, after reaching the Eastern Conference finals in three of the past four years, is now in danger of missing the playoffs altogether if they play the play-in and fail to make it to the seventh. eighth place.
(c) EFE Agency