After a second procedure on his right foot, Kevin Durant will miss at least one week. (David Zalubowski/Associated Press)
Kevin Durant’s trying season got a tad more challenging after the league’s reigning most valuable player had a second procedure on his surgically-repaired right foot that will keep him sidelined for at least one week, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced Sunday.
Thunder General Manager Sam Presti wouldn’t offer a timetable for Durant’s return but expects him to be back during the regular season. Durant sustained a Jones fracture in his foot in October but the screw inserted in his foot needed to be replaced because it was rubbing against another bone and causing discomfort.
The pain had been persistent for at least two weeks and limited Durant to a short stint during last week’s NBA All-Star Game.
After laboring through most of the Thunder’s win Thursday over Dallas, Durant removed his right shoe — his third different pair that night — late in the fourth quarter and massaged his foot in frustration.
The Thunder determined that it needed to take measures to reduce the pain. Durant will be evaluated in another week.
“There was an opportunity to address irritation from the screw, and to make an adjustment to a different piece of hardware within the foot to relieve the symptoms of his soreness,” Presti said in a statement released by the team. “The fracture itself is healing excellently by all accounts and we continue to feel good about the prognosis moving forward.”
Durant missed the first month of the regular season with his initial injury, the longest extended absence of his career. He has been limited to just 27 of 55 overall games for the Thunder due to a few more setbacks. He sprained his right ankle in December and missed six games and missed another four with a sprained left toe.
Oklahoma City has won five consecutive games and has a 1 1/2 game lead over Phoenix for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
All-Star Game MVP Russell Westbrook had 33 points and 10 assists to lead the Thunder to a win over Charlotte in Durant’s absence Saturday. In his past four games without Durant, Westbrook has averaged 35.8 points, 8.5 assists and seven rebounds.
Michael Lee is the national basketball writer for The Washington Post.
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