MIRACLE NET: LeVERT WILL PLAY THIS SEASON
Despite ugly scene, hurt LeVert expected back by end of season
Caris LeVert and the Nets got some stunningly good news Tuesday morning, when the emerging young guard was diagnosed with a much-better-than-feared dislocated right foot. Despite Monday night’s gruesome injury that looked like it would be long term, LeVert won’t need surgery and the team expects him back this season.
Medical experts told The Post that LeVert could return in two to three months.
“I just want to thank God above all things because despite how bad the injury looked, it could’ve been a lot worse. I want to thank everyone for your prayers, messages, love and support for both my family and me. We appreciate you all! This is just a small setback but I promise y’all I’ll be back better than before! Can’t wait to get back out there with my brothers!!! @brooklynnets,” LeVert posted on Instagram, along with three prayer emojis.
LeVert suffered the injury with 3.7 seconds left in the first half of Monday’s loss in Minnesota, his foot bending in a grotesque way. He was rushed to a local hospital while his teammates finished the game, many in tears afterward and several fully expecting him to miss the rest of the season.
But LeVert returned to New York with the team late Monday night, and he was evaluated Tuesday morning by Brooklyn’s team orthopedist, Martin O’Malley, at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He was diagnosed with a subtalar dislocation of the right foot.
“Fortunately, tests performed this morning revealed that there are no fractures and only moderate ligament damage,” O’Malley said in a statement. “While the optics of this injury may have appeared to be more severe, surgery will not be required. Caris will begin a period of rehabilitation with the Nets’ performance staff, following which he is expected to return to full strength and resume all basketball activities without any limitations this season.”
O’Malley has a long history with LeVert. The guard had multiple injuries while at Michigan, which led to him falling out of the lottery. For his final foot surgery as a senior, LeVert picked O’Malley, who had repaired the ankles and feet of several NBA stars, including Kevin Durant and ex-Net Brook Lopez.
The Nets offered no timeline for LeVert’s return.
“This is actually not a common injury. Most of these if they’re just an isolated dislocation — there are no associated bone fractures, the ligament aspect is not significant — we immobilize them for a period as short as two-to-three weeks and get them moving as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Dennis Cardone, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at NYU Langone Health.
“He’ll be non-weight bearing for the first few weeks. Then over a period of about six weeks or so get back to some weight bearing. To the elite athlete, ideally we would say 12 weeks by the time they get full strength back and feel comfortable on it. It could be shorter. The minimum is 8-12 weeks.”
For the Nets, having LeVert
avoid a season-ending injury will be a huge lift. He’s emerged as the foundation of their rebuild and had garnered early All-Star buzz.
LeVert is averaging a career-high 18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals. And he’s the only NBA player with multiple gamewinning baskets with less than 10 seconds left in regulation or overtime this season. Thanks to this diagnosis, it’s likely he’ll get the unexpected chance to convert more this season.
“The mood of how we feel today — it’s not a good injury — but let’s get this rehab knocked out and see him in 2019,” a member of LeVert’s camp told The Post. “Last night we weren’t hoping for the back of the season; we were just hoping for recovery.
“With a quick reaction in that climate, these things get shared quickly, and everyone was thinking the worst. The good news is it wasn’t a reinjury. I’m just happy for the kid.”