Kawhi Leonard injury: how long will he be out?
The Clippers star missed the last three first-round playoff games against the Suns with a sore knee. The team, once eliminated, has revealed his injury is more serious.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee, as revealed by The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Leonard played no part in any of the Clippers’ last three games of the first-round series against the Phoenix Suns due to injury. The Clippers, who lost four straight after opening the series with a win, had said Leonard was suffering from “a sprain to his right knee”. The forward played the second game with discomfort before being ruled out for the following games.
The Clippers were eliminated with a loss last night (136-130) and following that disappointment, the true extent of Kawhi’s ailment was revealed. A story reminiscent of the 2021 playoffs, when the forward tore a ligament in the same knee that kept him sidelined for the entire 2021-22 season. On that occasion, like this time, the Clippers also didn’t confirm the actual injury until they were eliminated, even though the player had already missed several games before. In this case, Leonard’s injury comes in the back of loss of Paul George, who has not played since 21 March due to a sprained right knee.
The Clippers have not yet announced when their player will undergo surgery to repair the damaged meniscus. Leonard can expect to be sidelined for at least a month after surgery, possibly longer. This season he has averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Decent enough numbers, but the problem is the number of games he has missed. This year, he has been on court in 52 games and has not played more than 60 since 2016-17.