Wizards point guard John Wall has undergone successful surgery on his ruptured left Achilles tendon, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post reports (via Twitter). The team had announced last Tuesday that Wall would undergo the procedure sometime soon.
While the Wizards indicated last week that Wall is expected to return to full basketball activities approximately 12 months after undergoing surgery, that timeline isn’t set in stone. As Buckner notes (via Twitter), the window for Wall’s recovery is more like 11-15 months, so there’s a chance he may not return at all during the 2019/20 campaign, which is the first season of his four-year, super-max extension.
Wall previously underwent season-ending surgery on his left heel, but later suffered the Achilles injury after he slipped and fell in his home. It was a devastating blow for both the Wizards and their All-Star point guard, but Wall attempted to take an optimistic view when he discussed the injury last week.
“You never want to hear it, but it is what it is, and [I’m] kind of glad that it happened now instead of when I’m four or five months ahead in recovery and I’m trying to get back to being on the court,” Wall said. “… It’s not like I’ve started my process of getting back, so it’s not too much to kind of dwell on.
“I guess God is telling me something: ‘Sit down and get yourself fully healthy.’ I’ve played through injuries my whole career. I know a lot of people who’ve played through injuries and don’t sit down; that’s one thing I don’t like to do. If something is nagging or not broken, I want to play. And I guess it kind of caught up to me. Something I can’t control, but my love for the game is still there, and I’ll come back and conquer this like it was just a little step in the road.”
With Wall sidelined for the next year, the Wizards will be under additional pressure to get new starting point guard Tomas Satoransky locked up beyond this season. Satoransky, who is eligible for an in-season extension, is on track to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Why would anyone now sign long term with this team. They’re going to be burdened with Wall’s contract for a while.
The nature of Wall’s Achilles injury is shady.
I thought so at first, too, especially as a disappointed Wizards fan. But then… this guy has a newborn baby, and his mom was recently diagnosed with cancer, so I’m gonna cut him a break.
wiz have played better without wall – maybe john shouldn’t rush back too soon
Wiz messed up at this deadline. They should have been trying to stockpile ANY asset they could. 2nd round picks can be used to get back into the 1st. Ariza, Satoransky, Dekker, Green all should have been traded for something.