As if the Golden State Warriors weren't already dealing with enough injuries, reserve center Jermaine O'Neal will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right wrist.
Jermaine O’Neal injury: Warriors C to have wrist surgery
Reports are that injury could threaten the big man’s season.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
More: Golden State of Mind
The team announced the news on its official Twitter account Thursday night:
1 of 2) @jermaineoneal will undergo arthroscopic surgery tomorrow to address a torn ligament in his right wrist.
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) December 13, 2013 2 of 2) A timetable for his return will be determined after his procedure.
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) December 13, 2013 It was reported earlier in the week that this injury has been lingering for a while, and that it could threaten the 35-year-old O’Neal’s season, and perhaps even his career. Here’s the money quote from Wednesday’s article in the San Jose Mercury News:
O’Neal, 35, has torn ligaments on the outside of his wrist, an injury suffered four weeks ago that he said just keeps getting worse. He said he is unable to grip the basketball, and because it’s his shooting hand, his offensive game has been severely impaired.
O’Neal said his wrist has been so painful he can’t even handle a TV remote or drive his car without it hurting.
“I can’t even pull a sheet over me without feeling it,” he told this newspaper. “I’ve never been stabbed, but it feels like a deep stab.”
We'll obviously know more after the operation is complete, but this is not a good situation for a team already staring at a shallow roster. The Warriors are now without O'Neal and Andre Iguodala for the foreseeable future in an extremely difficult conference.
Stay tuned for updates on O’Neal’s status.
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