LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray had surgery to repair a torn left knee ligament and remains out indefinitely, the NBA team said Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Canadian tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on April 12 in the Nuggets’ loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Just seconds from the end of the contest his knee buckled as he drove to the basket and he collapsed to the court in pain.
Losing Murray was a significant blow for the Nuggets, who had acquired Aaron Gordon and JaVale McGee at the trade deadline to boost what they hoped would be a deep post-season run led by Most Valuable Player candidate Nikola Jokic and Murray.
Now they will be without their second-leading scorer in Murray.
The injury — and a likely recovery time of up to 12 months — also deals a blow to Canada’s Olympic hopes. Murray had indicated he was determined to play for the national team and hoped to compete in Tokyo.
© Agence France-Presse