Paul George Suffers Gruesome Broke Leg
02 Aug, 2014
Indiana Pacers All-Star Paul George has undergone successful surgery on his broken right leg and is expected to remain in the hospital for about three days.
George had an operation at Sunrise Hospital to repair the open tibia-fibula fracture, USA Basketball said in a statement early Saturday morning. Dr. David Silverberg, Dr. Joseph Yu and USA Basketball team physician Riley Williams, were present for the surgery, the release said.
George suffered the gruesome right leg injury late in the U.S. national team’s intrasquad scrimmage Friday night. He leaped to contest a fast-break layup by James Harden with 9:33 left in the fourth quarter and his leg smashed against the bottom of the backboard stanchion and crumpled.
Trainers immediately ran onto the floor and after roughly 10 minutes of stoppage, George was taken out of the arena on a stretcher. With players looking visibly upset, coach Mike Krzyzewski then announced to the crowd that the scrimmage would not be finished out of respect to George and his family.
On Saturday morning, Larry Bird, the Pacers president of basketball operations, issued an updated statement saying it’s too early to start talking about George’s expected return.
“We are hopeful at some point next week Paul will return to Indianapolis to continue his recovery,” Bird said. “There is no question about the impact on our team but our goal is to be as strong-willed and determined as Paul will be in coming back.
Our franchise has had setbacks in its history but has demonstrated the abilities to recover. Paul will provide the example of that off the court and it is up to the rest of us to provide that example on the court.
Any discussion regarding the future of our team would be inappropriate at this time. Our focus is solely on Paul and doing whatever we can to help.”
Doctors estimate a full recovery could take as much as 18 months.
Dr. Patrick Kersey, who treated Louisville guard Kevin Ware when he sustained a similar injury during the NCAA tournament regional finals in 2013, said George will likely need 6 to 12 weeks to recover from surgery and another 6 to 10 weeks to get back to a normal walking gait. Kersey is not treating George.
A complete recovery, Kersey said, normally takes 12 to 18 months, though the fact he is an elite athlete in top shape could speed up that timeframe.
AP
Image JOHN LOCHER
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