Abrines undergoes surgery for hernia
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Abrines is expected to be out six to eight weeks after having what the Thunder called “a successful procedure to address a sports hernia.”
As he looked ahead to his offseason last Saturday, Alex Abrines dropped a significant hint.
During his appearance at Thunder exit interviews, the second-year guard said he’d had some “issues in my groin” and that he’d be seeing a specialist to “take care of some issues in my body.”
He got the groin issue squared away on Thursday with what the Thunder called “a successful procedure to address a sports hernia.” Dr.
William Meyers of the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia performed the surgery.
Abrines is expected to be out six to eight weeks, after which time he’ll return to “normal offseason activities,” according to a Thunder news release.
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons website, a sports hernia is a “painful soft tissue injury that occurs in the groin area.”
It was one in a string of nagging injuries for the 6-foot-6 Abrines, who missed training camp and three of the Thunder’s four preseason games with a bone bruise in his left knee. He dealt with lingering issues into the season, with soreness sometimes limited to his left knee, sometimes in the right one, too.
Abrines, 24, averaged 4.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game this season, shooting 39.5 percent from the floor and 38 percent from 3-point range. He played in 75 games.
But he rarely seemed fully healthy.
In January, he indicated that a problem with his groin — it’s unclear if it was the sports hernia for which he had surgery on Thursday — was as a result of his knee problems. In November, he said that he never used to worry about having a string of knee problems at such a young age, then joked “I’m starting.”
In the second half of the season, most of the issues Abrines discussed were with his groin, and those were addressed Thursday.
Abrines posted Instagram after the procedure that he was “now resting and getting better,” and he has some time to focus on recovery — and on his personal life. Abrines is getting married this summer in his native Spain.
Court dedication
On Monday the Thunder, in association with the Thunder Cares Foundation and Enable Midstream Partners, will dedicate a new outdoor basketball court at Fraley Park in Ardmore. The dedication will take place at 3:30 p.m. at the park.
The court is the 19th built or refurbished by the Thunder Cares foundation since 2009.
Quotable
“We want players that are from Oklahoma to go on and have success other places. We're not, like, 5-year-olds, rooting against people. This is a business.” — Thunder general manager Sam Presti on the success that Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis had this season in Indiana. The Thunder traded Oladipo and Sabonis last offseason for Paul George.