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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant had surgery Sunday to alleviate pain in his right foot, and the Oklahoma City Thunder expect him to return during the regular season.
A screw was replaced from his October operation for a broken bone in the right foot. Thunder general manager Sam Presti said the star forward will be evaluated again within a week.
Presti said the head of the original screw was rubbing against the cuboid bone in the foot, causing discomfort. The new screw does not have a head. Presti said the new hardware won't affect the already positive long-term prognosis.
Durant has played in just 27 games this season because of the broken foot, sprained right ankle and sprained left big toe. He said the right foot was sore after Thursday night's game against Dallas.
"Yeah, it's tough, but I'll figure it out," he said. "Just got to get through it, keep getting treatment, and talk to trainers tomorrow to see what we can do to make it better."
Presti said it's normal to have some discomfort after the surgery, but it was supposed to dissipate as the bone healed. Instead, the pain increased. The team tried to manage the soreness, but couldn't. The Thunder checked with his original surgeon, then got a second opinion before deciding what to do.
Presti said the rubbing has not created nothing more than discomfort with the cuboid bone, and there is not a new injury. He said transferring to a different screw would not be possible if the initial injury had not been healing properly.
"While he's on the floor and playing through the soreness, he's in no way putting at risk the initial injury," Presti said. "Otherwise, he would not have been on the floor."
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