Kevin Durant out for year with foot injury, Thunder announce

Kevin Durant will miss the rest of the year with ongoing complications from a preseason foot injury, the Thunder officially announced Friday.

Durant will also undergo a bone graft procedure in the coming week, which is standard for about five to seven percent of Jones fracture injuries that fail to heal properly. The recovery process for that surgery is four to six months.

"It was the consensus of the specialists team, in addition to a collective decision by Kevin, his representation and the Thunder, that to address the setback of the fracture site, a bone graft procedure would be the most proactive and recommended approach," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a press release.

Durant has missed the majority of the season after suffering the fracture in his right foot before the season. He missed the season's 17 games, returned a couple weeks earlier than was expected and has since been in and out of the lineup due to complications from the injury.

Durant underwent minor surgery after the All Star break intended to alleviate soreness in the foot, but Presti announced last week that Durant's foot still hadn't been healing right, emphasizing that there was no timetable for his return.

Even with Russell Westbrook's extraordinary play, Durant's absence is crippling to a Thunder team that is just barely hanging onto the No. 8 seed in the West. To make matters worse, Serge Ibaka's knee injury about a week ago will keep him out until mid-April. Now officially with no Durant the rest of the season, the Thunder may still hang onto their playoff berth but are unlikely to cause problems for their opponent once they get there.