Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has reportedly suffered a left meniscus injury, which is awful news for the big man.
Towns was named a Western Conference All-Star this season after he missed a large chunk of the last season due to injury. He has played an integral role on the Timberwolves, currently tied for the best record in the West and the second-best record in the NBA.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Towns was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Charania reported that the Minnesota star is out indefinitely.
Just in: Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee and is out indefinitely, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/JlPe73PnN9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 7, 2024
Charania then reported that Towns “has been gathering second opinions on the injury” over the past 24 hours.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, meanwhile, it “remains unclear” how much time Towns will miss due to the meniscus injury. In fact, per Woj, we don’t yet know if the Timberwolves star will miss any time at all.
ESPN Sources: Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has suffered a left meniscus injury, but it remains unclear about how much, if any, time he’ll be required to miss. Towns and team are working to get full understanding of degree of injury and whether it demands immediate action.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 7, 2024
Here is more from Woj (via ESPN):
“Karl-Anthony Towns has suffered a left meniscus injury, and doctors are evaluating whether that will require the Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star to miss a significant period of time, sources told ESPN on Thursday morning.
Towns is undergoing further evaluation to determine whether an immediate procedure is required, or whether there are rehab options that could return him to Minnesota’s lineup in the more immediate future, sources said.
A decision is expected soon, sources said.”
So to summarize, Charania’s reporting is that Towns is out indefinitely while Wojnarowski’s reporting is that the big could return in the “more immediate future” for the Timberwolves.
That is a bit confusing, of course, because Wojnarowski and Charania are considered the two most trusted basketball news-breakers in the industry.
The two reporters were also formerly coworkers at Yahoo Sports, where Woj was a mentor for Shams before the two became rivals. So it is especially interesting to see these two end up with such wildly different reports about how much time Towns will miss.
In reality, doctors have likely not yet determined the right treatment plan for the former No. 1 overall pick. But until then, this is a wildly important update for Minnesota’s title hopes.
