Orthopedic surgeon explains severity of Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox’s ankle injury
Disturbing images of Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox surfaced late Tuesday night following a 107-99 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Golden 1 Center.
Fox was seen hobbling out of the arena on crutches with a boot on his foot a day after severely spraining his left ankle at practice. ABC 10 cameras captured the lightning-fast Fox shuffling slowly through the hallway outside the locker room, coming to a complete stop to exchange a fist bump along the way.
The Kings said Fox will be reevaluated in three to four weeks, but it will likely take longer for him to return to the lineup. A league source told The Sacramento Bee that Fox suffered a grade-3 sprain. That is the most severe class of sprains, according to Dr. Mark Drakos, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports-related injuries.
“A grade-3 sprain means there was a tear of two of the ligaments on the outside of the ankle,” said Drakos, a foot and ankle surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
“Grade 1 is a partial tear of one or both ligaments. Grade 2 is a complete tear of one and a partial tear of the other. A grade-3 sprain is the worst of the sprains. That means there was a tear of two of the ligaments on the outside of the ankle, so it’s a significant injury in terms of contributing to the overall stability of the ankle.”
Drakos said there are 30,000 ankle sprains in the United States each day. A grade-3 sprain typically requires four to six weeks of recovery, but some can take longer to heal, Drakos said. In 2017-18, Matthew Dellavedova missed nine weeks for the Milwaukee Bucks and Reggie Jackson missed 12 weeks for the Detroit Pistons. Last season, Lonzo Ball missed the last 11 weeks after suffering the same injury with the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 19.
Fox would miss 13 games if he is out for four weeks and 20 games if he is out for six weeks. Kings coach Luke Walton started Cory Joseph in place of Fox against the Trail Blazers. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Yogi Ferrell saw increased ball-handling duties off the bench.
Fox is averaging 18.2 points, 7.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds for the Kings (4-6), who have won four of their last five going into Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers (8-2). The Kings were running a half-court drill near the end of Monday’s practice when Fox’s injury occurred.
“I didn’t think it was that bad when it happened,” Walton said. “I saw him go off the court. I thought it was a normal tweak of an ankle.”
Drakos said players can be more susceptible to future ankle sprains if the injury doesn’t heal well and the ligaments remain loose. He noted Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry underwent surgery after spraining his right ankle several times during the 2010-11 season, but surgery usually is not needed.
If team doctors determine Fox needs surgery after reevaluating him in three to four weeks, he would miss the rest of the season, but fewer than a dozen players are known to have required surgical procedures to repair ankle sprains, Drakos said.
“Nine times out of 10, the ligament heals, which is why most ankle sprains get better,” Drakos said. “In a small percentage of cases, the ligament doesn’t heal. You can have recurring ankle sprains and instability, but rarely does it require surgery.”
Sacramento Kings upcoming schedule
Nov. 15 at Los Angeles Lakers
Nov. 17 vs. Boston Celtics
Nov. 19 vs. Phoenix Suns
Nov. 22 at Brooklyn Nets
Nov. 24 at Washington Wizards
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 4:50 AM.
