Doctor explains Melton’s ACL injury, potential Warriors comeback timeline originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
De’Anthony Melton will miss Friday night’s Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies game. with a left MCL sprainand his status after that remains unknown.
The 26-year-old Warriors guard will undergo further tests, the team announced Thursday, to help determine the severity of the injury he suffered in the second quarter of Golden State’s win over the Dallas Mavericks on tuesday night
While Dub Nation anxiously awaits the definitive details, Dr. Geoffrey Abrams, MD of Stanford Medicine, spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area and broke down some of the possible outcomes of the injury and a potential timeline for recovery.
“ACL sprains can come in many varieties,” said Dr. Abrams. “Obviously not having seen the MRI or been part of his care, it could be anything from a mild sprain with just a little bit of inflammation around the ligament, which is one of the main ligaments around the knee. For very minor sprains of the ligament, where there are no major structural problems, this may only be a few weeks or so.
“For higher grade tears where there is concern that there was structural integrity, that really goes down a different path and it can be many weeks to the possibility of even surgery if there are significant structural problems with that ligament.”
Melton, in his first season with the Warriors, is averaging 10.3 points on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent from 3-point range, with 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in six games.
He was inserted into the starting lineup of coach Steve Kerr over the last two games in the shooting guard spot, filling in nicely alongside Steph Curry, averaging 16.5 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from downtown, with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 26.6 minutes.
Dr. Abrams further explained the rehab timeline options that depend on the severity of Melton’s injury.
“The ACL, which is the ligament we’re talking about, is really important for cutting and pivoting action, so if you do that like you’re in basketball all the time, that ligament is one of the main supports of the knee when you do that,” he said. “So if the ligament is injured, it can lead to instability of the knee, like you feel your knee move under you a little bit if that ligament is compromised.
“Now in minor sprains of the ACL, there shouldn’t be significant structural compromise of the knee, so I’d be surprised if it’s just a minor sprain that he would feel that. But there’s a whole rehab timeline to go through in terms of strengthening the muscles around the knee and heal that ligament.”
