The injury bug has bitten the Los Angeles Clippers once again.
The Clippers announced on Tuesday that nine-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul has a torn ligament in his left thumb and will undergo surgery on Wednesday. He is expected to miss roughly six-to-eight weeks of action.
Chris Paul will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb and is expected to miss approximately 6-8 weeks. pic.twitter.com/KkGAFyeOTW
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) January 18, 2017
Paul was injured in a collision with Russell Westbrook in the second quarter of the Clippers’ 120-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. He was forced to exit the game and did not return.
It’s worth nothing that the injury is not to the same hand that Paul fractured in the Clippers’ first-round playoff series against Portland last April. But nevertheless, the Clippers have now seen their best two players go down in the span of just one month after Blake Griffin was forced to undergo knee surgery in December. There is a silver lining though in that Griffin appears to be on schedule in his recovery and may return by the end of January, something the Clippers now badly need to happen.
Raymond Felton, who made six starts earlier this season when Paul was dealing with a hamstring injury, figures to be the Clippers’ starting point guard for the duration of Paul’s recovery, which could keep him out until at least March if this timetable holds true.
The Clippers are currently fourth in the Western Conference at 29-14 on the year, but now it seems to be a legitimate concern that they could lose ground and miss out on home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
