News Thursday morning that Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has a torn meniscus is sent a devastating shockwave through Minnesota as the Western Conference leaders may have to forge a deep playoff run without one of their best players.
But while Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that Towns is out indefinitely, there’s a glimmer of hope within the report from Charania’s ESPN counterpart Adrian Wojnarowski.
While Charania is calling the injury a “torn meniscus,” Wojnarowski offers a more vague description, referring to it as a “meniscus injury.” And what’s more is that Woj says “it remains unclear about how much, if any, time he’ll be required to miss.”
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
Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic echoed Woj’s report about the uncertainty about the severity of the injury, saying “I think there’s still a lot to work through with this KAT injury” and that how long he could be out “is still being determined.”
Generally speaking, a torn meniscus could result in months on the shelf. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid hasn’t played since Jan. 30 because of a meniscus tear in his left knee and there still isn’t a timeline for his return.
If Towns isn’t dealing with a tear and instead something more minor, then the outlook could be much brighter. But the clock on the regular season is ticking, The Wolves have 20 games to go and the playoffs are just six weeks away (April 20).
According to Massachusetts General Hospital, there are all kinds of meniscus injuries, ranging from a meniscus strain to a partial or full meniscus tear: “The treatment for meniscus injury symptoms varies on the degree of injury, and can be as conservative as rest and icing up to more drastic interventions like surgery,”
Right now there is an ominous cloud over the Timberwolves, but Woj’s report leaves the door open with a crack of light shining through. The question is if the door will slam shut or prove to be a way out of what looks like a daunting situation.
