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Washington Wizards point guard John Wall is expected to undergo surgery on his left heel, which would end his 2018-19 season, the team announced on Saturday.
Wall saw specialist Dr. Robert Anderson for his left heel injury and is planning to have a procedure next week in Green Bay, Wisc. that would end Wall’s regular season. The surgery is expected to sideline Wall for an estimated six to eight months.
The surgery plans were first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Wall missed Friday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls with the heel injury, a malady that coach Scott Brooks said his point guard has been dealing with for years. “It comes and goes,” Brooks told reporters on Friday.
Brooks earlier Saturday confirmed Wall met with the specialist and added, “He wanted to compete for his team, but it got to a point where he had to make some tough decisions.”
Friday was Wall’s fourth game missed in December for the Wizards, who have dropped nine of their last 11 games. After making the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, Washington is mired among the dregs of the Eastern Conference this season at just 13-23.
More concerning than Washington’s poor start is the immediate future, now with an outlook darkened by Wall’s injury and mammoth contract. The Wizards handed him a four-year, $169 million contract extension that does not begin until next season. His heel surgery is an unfortunate reminder that this is a player who has battled injuries for a good chunk of his career.
September 2012
Wall suffered a non-traumatic stress injury in his left knee. The injury was sustained during preseason basketball and cost him the first 33 games of the regular season.
May 2015
Wall fractured the wrist of his non-shooting hand in the first game of Washington’s Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup against the Hawks. He turned out to have five (5!) in his wrist and hand. Somehow, though, Wall returned for Games 5 and 6, but it wasn’t enough. The Hawks advanced to the conference finals.
May 2016
Wall undergoes dual knee surgeries to rid his left knee of calcium deposits and to wash loose bodies out of the right. The procedures were much needed, as Wall had played through discomfort much of the 2015-16 season.
November 2017
Wall undergoes another two procedures on his left knee. This time, he receives a PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, injection that was expected to help speed up the healing of local ligaments. He missed nine games because of this procedure.
January 2018
Wall sat out six-to-eight weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic debridement surgery to help clean loose bodies from his bothersome left knee. The surgery cost him an appearance at the NBA All-Star Game.
December 2018
Wall will miss six-to-eight months after getting surgery on his left heel. It’s the latest of many injuries that have plagued the speedy playmaker over the course of his career.
The Wizards showed in spurts they could play well without Wall when he missed time after knee surgery during the 2017-18 season. This season has been anything but easy for the Washington. They are 10 games below .500 but boast the talent of a team that should be competing for an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.