Report: Nurkic to miss at least 8 weeks after undergoing wrist surgery
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic will undergo surgery on his right wrist and miss a minimum of eight weeks, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Nurkic suffered the injury during Thursday's loss to the Indiana Pacers as he attempted to swipe the ball from Malcolm Brogdon. He left the game holding his wrist in the third quarter and didn't return.
Nurkic took a swipe at the ball on defense and appeared to injure his hand. More info to come... pic.twitter.com/5Y4s5UDiOG
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) January 15, 2021
Under an eight-week timeline, Nurkic could potentially return for the season's second half, which has yet to be scheduled by the league.
This marks Nurkic's second extended injury absence in as many years. The 26-year-old fractured the tibia and fibula in his left leg in March 2019, sidelining him for five months to start the 2019-20 season. However, due to the sudden stoppage last year, he returned for the NBA's summer restart at Disney World.
The Bosnian big man is averaging 9.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 12 games this season.