The scene around Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant went from intrigue and excitement over his return from injury, to massive concern in the blink of an eye. During Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night against the Toronto Raptors, Durant came back from a strained calf suffered in the second round. But the way things ended have fans, teammates and everyone in between worried about KD’s future.
During the second quarter, Durant attempted to drive to his left side, but immediately pulled up and proceeded to grab his leg while going to the ground, as SportsCenter showed.
Kevin Durant appears to aggravate his calf injury and heads to the locker room early in the second quarter.
Durant signaled to the sideline for trainers to come over and after a period of remaining down, he was helped up and received guidance getting back to the locker room. While he was ruled out for the remainder of the game quickly, there was no official word on his status.
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Latest Update Reveals Ruptured Achilles Tendon
On Wednesday afternoon, the news which was feared came to light about Durant’s injury. As The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported, Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and underwent surgery to repair it already.
Warriors All-Star Kevin Durant has underwent surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Durant also posted about his surgery on Instagram, revealing that did indeed rupture his Achilles and that his road back to the court begins now.
Warriors GM Reveals Kevin Durant Suffered Achilles Injury
As Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported, general manager Bob Myers revealed that Durant’s injury was to his Achilles, but the extent was not yet known. The MRI to detail the severity was set for Tuesday, and Myers was seen visibly upset talking about Durant’s injury in a postgame press conference, per Def Pen Hoops.
#Warriors GM Bob Meyers is visibly emotional as he announces that Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles injury tonight
The day after Game 5, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that while Durant was cleared to play on Monday, that he wasn’t “anywhere close to 100 percent.”
Even though he was cleared for Game 5, Durant was not anywhere close to 100 percent, sources said. The individual workout sessions and the light practice session on Sunday could not simulate the rigors of an ultra-competitive championship game.
Haynes also pointed out that there’s “speculation from league personnel” that Durant’s initial injury had to have been more than just a strained calf. There’s nothing that’s been said publicly on that front, but it could be a situation to monitor as more information comes to light on Durant.
Kevin Durant’s MRI Updates
The MRI is slated for Tuesday, but the worst was feared almost immediately. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported (via Adrian Wojnarowski) that the Warriors believe the MRI will show a torn right Achilles’ tendon.
The Warriors believe Kevin Durant’s MRI on Tuesday will confirm a torn right Achilles’ tendon, league sources tell me and @wojespn
On Tuesday afternoon, The Athletic’s Shams Charania added a new report which stated that Durant will travel to New York for an evaluation on his right Achilles tendon.
Golden State’s Kevin Durant is traveling to New York for doctor evaluations on his injured right Achilles tendon, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
Beyond that, a slow-motion video of the injury which came out shortly after the game added to the concern that Durant’s injury may have been to his Achilles. ACL Recovery Club posted a slow-motion video of Durant’s leg during the play and it shows what appears to be a pop.
*NOTE: The video below is graphic.
You can definitely see something pop! @ProFootballDoc
While the early reports that have come out on Durant don’t provide much optimism on the outlook, no official word has been released to this point. Once the MRI results are in, or any updates come out on Durant’s injury, we’ll update this post.
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Kevin Durant MRI Results: Injury Update Reveals Ruptured Achilles