Boston Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis to undergo surgery to repair ‘rare’ leg injury
With the Celtics’ first title in 16 years secure, the Latvian star can now focus on the injury that plagued him during the NBA Finals but it will require surgery.
The Celtics center suffered an injury that saw him sidelined for two games during the NBA Finals. Though he and his team were able to win the title, it came at a cost, and with that, the big man will now have to go under the knife.
Kristaps Porziņģis to have surgery
The Boston Celtics now have 18 championships to their name after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Following a heavy loss in Game 4, the Celtics responded with a solid performance to win 4-1. Yet, now that the first night of champagne and partying has come to an end, there are some matters to attend to and one of them is the health of Kristaps Porziņģis. The Celtics center suffered what was described as a ‘rare’ injury and to that end, is now set for surgery according to reports.
Where details are concerned, Porziņģis sustained a “torn medial retinaculum, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon” in his left leg during the third quarter of Game 2 after an awkward collision with Mavericks center Dereck Lively II. If you didn’t know, the tibialis posterior is located deep in the posterior compartment of the lower leg and situated towards the ankle. It is a key stabilizing muscle supporting the medial arch of the foot and is most definitely not a common injury. Speaking with ESPN, the 28-year-old admitted that he would have to have surgery, before admitting that he will require a “few months” to recover.
“I think something could have happened, for sure, especially compensating now on the other leg now, which I just came back from,” Porziņģis said when questioned post-game about the risk of reinjuring his leg during the game. “There was definitely some added risk, but I didn’t care. I was like, ‘I want to give everything I can and then fix it after if I need to.’”
Thankfully, for the Celtics at least, Porziņģis will have more than enough time to do that. With an average of 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season, he was a central piece to the Celtics’ puzzle. Regarding his status, he is entering the first year of a two-year, $60 million deal that he agreed to this past fall which is to say there is more to come, something he is relishing. “I don’t care,” Porziņģis said. “I will fix it. This is the most important, and after my injury healing and all that, it’s totally worth it.”