Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol will be sidelined indefinitely with a broken right foot, the team said in a statement Tuesday.
“Marc is a cornerstone of our franchise, and we are focused on getting him healthy,” Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said in the release. “Marc will be out indefinitely and a further update will be provided after the All-Star Break.”
Gasol was examined by team physicians Tuesday morning, and an MRI revealed a fracture in his right foot, the Grizzlies said. It is unknown when the injury occurred, but the 7-foot-1 center did make an early exit from Monday’s overtime loss to the Portland Trailblazers due to the injury.
“It’s certainly not great for Marc and his family. I know he’s disappointed,” Joerger told The Commercial Appeal on Tuesday. “It’s bad for our team. This is a tight bunch of dudes. They care about each other. It hurts everybody. Marc is a guy who lays it out there for his teammates and the fans. We’re going to fight, scratch and claw.”
Gasol, 31, has started all 52 games this season and is averaging 16.6 points, 7 rebounds and 1.35 blocks. He signed a five-year contract last July after becoming the first Grizzlies player voted to the All-NBA first team.
Although we won’t know more until after the All-Star Break, Dr. Ian S. Goldbaum, a podiatric physician and surgeon with over 30 years of experience, notes that even if the fracture is non-displaced, Gasol is still likely to miss multiple weeks.
“If he has a non-displaced fracture it means they won’t have to perform any surgery,” said Dr. Goldbaum, who has offices in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. “At three weeks, they’ll X-ray it to make sure there’s bone granulation, which is the formation of the bone callus that acts bridge of woven bone between the fracture fragments.”
Dr. Goldbaum was also quick to point out that, based on the limited current information available, that it’s unlikely that Gasol misses any less than six weeks due to the natural healing process of bones.
“It takes six weeks for bone to mend,” said Dr. Goldbaum. “They might utilize a bone stimulator, which sends an electrical charge into the bone to bring the two ends of the bone together and speed up the healing process, but I’d still put his minimum recovery time around six weeks to be safe.”
That being said, Dr. Goldbaum also believes that if surgery isn’t needed, that Gasol should be able to return with plenty of time before the playoffs begin.
“It would be a good sign,” he said. “It would mean that the injury did not occur on an area where the bone is being pulled by a muscle. The fracture is there, it just needs to come back together. If there was something pulling on it, they’d immediately need to go in and insert a screw or other form fixation device.”
The Grizzlies (31-22) are currently ranked fifth in the West Conference going into Friday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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