The Minnesota Timberwolves are prepping for a possible playoff push, but keep getting hit with injury after injury. Ricky Rubio is out for the season obviously with an ACL tear, and now big man Nikola Pekovic has started missing games with bone spurs in his right ankle. He'll miss the next couple of games in Memphis and Charlotte with the injury, and the Star Tribune reported on Monday that surgery might be needed after the season is over. Or at the very least, Pekovic is considering it.
There is no question that the grind of the compressed season, combined with Pekovic's increased playing time as the season went on, contributed to the pain and inflammation he has experienced. And while he is leaning toward having surgery, Pekovic said he will seek a second opinion before making that decision.
"I saw only one doctor here," Pekovic said. "I'm going to see one more, see what he will say. If they match up, [surgery is] probably what I would do."
Pekovic might be back in action against the Boston Celtics come this weekend wearing a protective boot on his ankle. His plans might start to become a bit more clear as the season winds along; if the playoffs are completely out of the picture in Minnesota in a couple of weeks he may start to consider the idea of surgery sooner rather than later. The banged up Wolves might miss him for the last few games, but they're already in the habit of missing guys lately.
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