Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks after straining his right calf in his team’s loss to Washington yesterday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Towns inexplicably fell to the floor clutching at his lower leg prompting fears that he may have suffered a long-term injury given the non-contact nature of the fall.
Tests showed, however, that there was no structural damage to Towns’ achilles.
The aim is for Towns to make a return to play sometime in January.
The 27-year-old has averaged 20.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 5.3 apg on .625 TS% in 21 starts this season.
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Minnesota made arguably the biggest move of the offseason sending five players and five future draft picks to Utah for three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Up until this point, however, their season has been shaky; they currently sit at 10th in the Western Conference at 10-11 and have struggled to develop chemistry or any semblance of consistency.
They lost six of seven games over a period at the start of the month before steadying the ship with a five-game winning streak that included wins over Cleveland and Philadelphia but followed that stretch up with another three-game losing streak.
Down their go-to guy and riding another losing streak heading into a decisive December, pressure will be on the likes of Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell to up their efficiency and lead the way in Towns’ absence whilst Gobert will be expected to keep the team afloat defensively.
Currently in possession of a below league-average offence and defence, head coach Chris Finch has his work cut out for him as the team looks to make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2004.
