Rockets’ Garuba Undergoes Wrist Surgery, Out 6-8 Weeks

JANUARY 27, 9:33am: Garuba underwent surgery today to repair a fracture in his left wrist, according to the Rockets, who confirmed in a press release that the rookie is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks.

JANUARY 26, 2:02pm: Garuba will undergo surgery on his injured wrist and is expected to miss about six-to-eight weeks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

JANUARY 26, 10:12am: Rockets rookie forward Usman Garuba is dealing with a left wrist injury that is more serious than initially believed, head coach Stephen Silas said on Tuesday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Garuba has been ruled out indefinitely.

Garuba had been on a G League assignment with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and last played with the team on Saturday. He showed up on the Rockets’ injury report two days later with what was only described as a “left wrist injury.”

“He fell,” Silas said on Tuesday, per Feigen. “I was talking to him about it. He was like, ‘Yeah, I fell, and I didn’t think it was that bad.’ But it turns out it’s pretty bad. He’s going to be out for a while. There is some talk about him needing surgery.”

Based on Silas’ comments, it sounds like the Rockets and Garuba are still evaluating their options for how to treat the injury. If he undergoes surgery, we likely won’t see him for at least several weeks, if not months. His recovery timeline would depend on the nature of the injury.

The 23rd overall pick in the 2021 draft, Garuba had played sparingly for Houston so far, averaging 1.3 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 15 games (7.0 MPG). The 19-year-old likely would’ve seen more action at the G League level than in the NBA during the second half of the season, so his absence won’t have an impact on the Rockets’ rotation. Still, it’s a disappointing setback for a young prospect who is part of the team’s long-term plans — Garuba’s developmental process will be slowed until his wrist heals.