Doctor gives thoughts on Porzingis’ rare leg injury appeared first on NBC Sports Boston
The unfortunate injury news announced on Tuesday regarding Kristaps Porzingis left Boston Celtics fans scratching their heads.
The Celtics announced that Porzingis “suffered a torn medial retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibial tendon in his left leg” during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The team said in a statement that the injury was “rare” and that Porzingis’ availability for future games would be evaluated “day to day.”
“The medial retinaculum is torn and the posterior tibial tendon is dislocated,” is a difficult thing to say, says Dr. John Ponti, an orthopedic surgeon at Southcoast Health. Initial version Here’s a simpler explanation for Porzingis’ injury.
“It appears that Porzingis tore something called the medial retinaculum in his ankle, which is basically a very thick band-like structure that holds the tendons in place in the ankle and allows the tendons to function,” Dr. Ponti said. “Basically what happened when Porzingis tore his ankle retinaculum was that one of those tendons shifted out of place and dislocated.”
“And it can be quite painful. And the function of that particular tendon is to allow you to plantar flex your foot, to allow you to stand on your toes. So for a 7-foot-3 center, that’s very difficult, especially when you’re trying to jump.”
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said Tuesday that Porzingis’ injury is “serious,” and Porzingis offered a more optimistic outlook but acknowledged that the decision about whether he’ll play beyond Game 3 on Wednesday is out of his hands.
Ponty briefly touched on the possibility of Porzingis playing.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for the medical team and for Porzingis to be able to return tomorrow night,” he added. “It’s going to depend on the level of pain and how much function he’s able to maintain despite this injury. If the pain is tolerable and he can demonstrate he can jump and run and it doesn’t interfere with his ability to complete those movements, then he could potentially be available.”
If Porzingis is forced to sit out, Latvian big man Al Horford, who missed the early playoffs with a calf injury, will likely take over as Boston’s starting center. The good news is that the Celtics are 30-5 in the regular season and playoffs without Porzingis.
Porzingis energized the Celtics off the bench in both Finals appearances at TD Garden, averaging 16.0 points and five rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.
The Celtics currently have Porzingis questionable for Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks, which is set to kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET and air at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Boston. Celtics Pregame Live.
