Warriors’ Stephen Curry Could Miss Up to 3 Months With Knee Injury

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Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has yet to receive the long-awaited green light from the team’s medical staff. 

Curry, 38, has been battling an intense runner’s knee injury since late January.

First signs of the injury occurred Jan. 24 while Curry was working out in Minneapolis. Just days later, the two-time MVP began what would go on to be a lengthy shutdown. 

It sure has been a testy couple of months for him.

Here’s an ultra competitor, a four time-champion and one of the NBA’s greatest players ever. Seeing his team win just nine games over his absence has marked a dejecting point in the latter years of his career.

The entire world understands how dangerous Curry still is on the court. To him, he probably doesn’t believe he is any less of a player he was 10 years ago. 

The clock is clicking on the Warriors’ season and therefore Curry’s comeback window.

Stephen Curry’s injury rehab could continue extending past no return

Amid a season of terrible injury fortune, the Warriors are seemingly hanging on by a thread. 

They have the play-in tournament to bank on, but they’ll need Curry to get cleared, make his return and get at least a couple of games to shake off potential rust. All that needs to happen before mid-April. The problem is it very well may not.

GettyStephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors have periodically provided updates on Curry, though not with great detail.

The best we have learned is that he is progressing. That was again the takeaway of this week’s update after Curry was re-evaluated Friday. All that is understood is that Curry isn’t all that close to returning. 

It is easy for fans to grow impatient after two months of waiting, but the nature of injury — and who it is affecting — must be considered. 

A 38-year-old battling runner’s knee is no joke. The clinical term for the injury is patellofemoral pain syndrome. Its symptoms include aching pain around the kneecap. The condition gets worse with running or intense movement. 

An NBA player moves intensely for a living, especially Curry, who moves around with boundless ambition all game trying to run off screen after screen. 

As Danny Emerman of The San Francisco Standard notes, this injury is one that can take multiple months to heal. 

“Moderate-to-severe cases of runner’s knee can require recovery timetables of two or three months, so Curry’s long rehab isn’t unprecedented,” Emerman wrote. “But setbacks and recovery stagnation have extended Curry’s absence.”

Bottom line: even a smooth rehab can take months; Curry’s rehab has been far from that. He has faced stagnation several times as he has attempted to gain full movement in his knee. 

Curry remaining absent for the remainder of the season cannot be ruled out. 

The Warriors are unable to brace for more impact

At this point, Golden State just cannot possibly stomach any more pain. 

If Curry’s knee troubles aren’t behind him within another week or two, the likelihood he plays again this season shrinks massively. 

The Warriors have already been battered all season. The night star swingman Jimmy Butler went down with a torn ACL gave off that feeling. This season was going to be an extremely trying one.

That’s not to mention all the other players who have spent significant time on the sidelines. Then there’s what happened to Moses Moody early this week. A total gut punch. 

Golden State will try to keep the car on the road without Curry. The team is in Denver tonight to play the Nuggets, who are on a five-game win streak. 

With the season far from being mathematically over, the Warriors’ effort and intensity over these final weeks will say a lot about the team’s belief in itself.

Adel Ahmad Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad