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After a scary sight in Game 5 of the Golden State Warriors’ second-round playoff series, the level of concern around Kevin Durant’s injury was lowered a bit. It appeared Durant may have suffered an Achilles injury originally, but shortly after he limped back to the locker room, the team announced it was a calf strain.
They proceeded to rule Durant out for the rest of that game, but there was still cause for concern, as an MRI was scheduled for the next day. From there, it became a “good news, bad news” situation, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Durant suffered a mild strain to his right calf and would be re-evaluated in one week.
As seen above, this means that the Warriors will move forward in their series against the Houston Rockets without Durant. But on the bright side, it appears he could return during the Western Conference Finals, assuming Golden State closes out James Harden and company.
One big remaining question was when a possible return in the next round could happen, and that’s where things get even tougher to gauge.
Kevin Durant’s Injury Return Late in Western Conference Finals?
There’s no clear-cut answer for when Durant will return from injury or if the Warriors will still be in the playoffs when he’s cleared. We know that he’ll be re-evaluated in the near future, but recent comments by Stadium’s Shams Charania certainly stood out, as he called the injury “tricky.”
“It’s a calf strain, but with this, calf strains are tricky. You can’t come back early from a calf strain, you could injure it more,” Charania stated. “With a hamstring, with a groin, calf, these are very tricky, intricate injuries. I’m told it could be anywhere from a week, it could take a few weeks. It just depends how he reacts when they re-evaluate him next week.”
From there, Charania explained that while Durant is expected to return if the Warriors continue winning, he cited the latter part of the Western Conference Finals.
“For the Warriors, the hope is as long as they advance to the conference finals, he will be able to come back at some point. Whether that’s Game 4, Game 6, Game 7, the NBA Finals if they’re able to get there, that remains to be seen.” Charania said.
It’s unknown if Charania is stating a return prior to that is almost entirely off the table, but it would make sense for that to be the case based on the recovery and timeline.
When Will Kevin Durant Return From Injury? Realistic Timeline
Durant suffered the initial injury on Wednesday, May 8, and if he’s re-evaluated a week after his MRI, that would be Thursday, May 16. According to Sports Media Watch, the tentative schedule for the Western Conference Finals would leave the Warriors star receiving an update prior to Game 2 of the next round.
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A return that quickly would be surprising, but if you look at a two or three-week timeline, it makes things a bit more interesting. If Durant is out for two weeks, it could lead to him returning somewhere around May 23, which is one day after the “if necessary” Game 5 is tentatively scheduled for.
Going out one additional week would set the return for May 30, which is Game 1 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Obviously, a lot can change and it’s unknown how quickly Durant will recover, but expecting him back before the final two or three games of the Western Conference Finals at the earliest appears to be unrealistic.
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