It’s been 99 days – 14 weeks and one day – since Karl-Anthony Towns crumbled to the court with a severe calf injury and despite speculation about his eventual return the Minnesota Timberwolves have remained radio silent about when that could be.
During his weekly appearance with Dan Barrerio on KFAN Monday, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic discussed the unknown timetable and lack of clarity from the team.
“I do think that they are sensitive to his situation and they want to make sure that he is mentally ready to come back,” said Krawczynski. “Because the worst-case scenario for them is that he comes back and gets re-injured. And that would really throw a bunch of problems into the air.”
I know there have been no updates on an injury that has now been 14 weeks, and I get that lack of info is frustrating to you as fans.
But we don’t know anything either. We also haven’t been given any updates
We ask about it often — and the answer is always “there’s no timeline”
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) March 7, 2023
“They’re being cautious. I don’t want to say they’re being overly cautious. They’re being cautious with what Karl-Anthony Towns has said is a very significant injury. I wish there was clarity, and more transparency on what exactly he’s going through and when he might be back,” Krawczynski continued. “I did not see him at practice in L.A. I did not see him at practice today, but we got let in late. We literally have no idea when he’s coming back and I don’t know if anyone has a definitive answer on what the timeline is for that right now.”
On the lack of communication from the Timberwolves, Krawczynski was critical, saying it “has been really poorly handled.” That said, there may be fears of greater injury if Towns is brought back too soon.
“There is a real concern that the injury that Karl-Anthony Towns has can be a precursor to an Achilles tear, to an ACL tear. That’s the other part that they have to figure out here and see if they’re putting him in harms way by bringing him back or not,” Krawczynski said.
The Wolves have 16 games left in the regular season and are in the midst of a tight playoff battle, sitting sixth in the Western Conference entering play Tuesday.
“I think if we get to the point of three or four games left in the regular season, if he hasn’t played yet, and you’re going to bring him back and throw him right into the playoffs, that’s putting him into a difficult position as well,” said Krawczynski.
“Maybe all along they’ve been ramping up to a certain date and saying we’re going to get there and everything will be fine,” Krawczynski continued. “But we have not heard that from Karl-Anthony Towns or from the team. So it is left to all us, the fans, media, people around the organization, whatever, to just guess. I just don’t think that’s productive for anyone.”
Krawczynski’s colleague at The Athletic, Shams Charania, reported before the All-Star break that Minnesota hopes Towns can play in “at least” the final 10-15 games of the regular season, which would point to a return within the next two weeks.
