Klay Thompson is expected to miss a big chunk of the next NBA season due to a severe knee injury he suffered in the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors. Even though he is positive he can return to the floor during the 2019-20 campaign; an expert doctor advised him to sit out two years before returning to the basketball.
Dr. Tim Hewett, an expert knee doctor who spent a big part of his career studying the biomechanics of the knee, says that Thompson should stay off the court for two years, although the player wants to play for Team USA in the 2020 Olympics. Hewett finds that athletes who suffer ACL tears should not return to action for two years.
According to Sean Deveney of Heavy: “Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors says he would like to play for Team USA in the 2020 Olympics. One problem: Thompson should not play high-level basketball at all, not for two years.”
“Please do share that with Klay,” Dr. Hewett told Heavy.com. “This is not my opinion. People say to me, ‘Well, that is your opinion, there are other opinions.’ No, I deal in science and I deal in fact. People don’t like to hear it but it does not change the facts, and that facts are that you’re at risk for re-injury before two years and you won’t be the same player in the first year.”
— Tim Hewett (@Hewett1Tim) September 22, 2019
Golden State re-signed Thompson to a five-year, $190 million contract this summer, but they need to be very cautious with the guard’s health. Klay’s long-term health is quite essential to the franchise, and they don’t want to rush anything. Still, the Warriors are not as strong as they used to be in the past few years, and they will need Thompson to get back to the court at some point. It remains to be seen whether they’ll use him in the 2019-20 season or not.
