Andre Roberson underwent surgery to repair a ruptured left patellar tendon and will miss the remainder of the season, the OKC Thunder announced Sunday.
Andre Roberson update from Thunder.
He underwent a successful procedure today to repair a ruptured left patellar tendon. He will miss remainder of season. Further updates when appropriate.
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 28, 2018
Roberson, 26, suffered a nasty spill on an alley-oop attempt Saturday night in Detroit.
The Thunder know they’ll miss their elite defensive stopper.
Per ESPN:
“He’s certainly a huge loss,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said after Saturday’s game. “Everyone’s been able to see that since he’s kinda come back to us and what he’s been able to do defensively. And he’s found a way to be, offensively, a really effective player for us.”
Forward Paul George said he’ll be there to assist Roberson in dealing with the injury. George understands better than most, having come back after breaking his right leg in an exhibition game with USA Basketball in 2014.
“I’ll be there for him along the way, try to help as much as possible, putting him in a good place with the injury,” George said. “Because I know how it is. I’ve been down that road before. So real unfortunate. But one thing about Dre, man, he’s tough, and he’s a strong person, so he’ll definitely persevere through it.”
“It’s s—, it’s real s—,” center Steven Adams said. “He’s a huge part of our team and why we win. It’s a huge blow to us, but we’re just going to have to rely on some of the players to step up.”
