Surgeon is optimistic about Chet Holmgren's injury
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Thunder are looking to fill the hole left in the lineup with Chet Holmgren expected to miss 8-10 weeks following a right iliac wing fracture.
A doctor News 4 spoke with says it is rare to see a pelvic fracture happen in sports; typically they see it in accidents on the road, but they treat it the same.
He also says there is optimism about Chet Homlgren's injury.
"Chet has a fracture of his iliac wing, which is this portion right here," Dr. Brandon Hull, Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon at OU Medical Center said.
A pelvic fracture is sidelining the Thunder's superstar center for quite some time, which has fans anxious about how they will play without him.
"They got some people that can back that up," Tony James, Thunder fan said.
Thunder fans hope the team's depth will come into play and be able to pick up the 16 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks Holmgren was averaging to start the season.
I think they can keep winning if they just keep playing the way that they are," James said.
There is optimistic news from Dr. Hull.
"So, the good news from that is we think about pelvic fractures as either one stable or two unstable, and this typically is a stable injury," Dr. Hull said. "What that means is it doesn't affect the overall intact body of the pelvis. So, most often treated without surgery has really good healing potential."
It benefits Holmgren even more being the athlete he is, with a positive outlook on him not having to go through surgery, just letting it heal with time.
"He's a healthy patient, so that's helpful for Chet," Dr. Hull said. "Young, healthy, strong male, good physical fitness level. All that's going to really help him a lot."
Thunder fans hope the team can continue to win while he is out, and are wishing for a speedy recovery.
"I want to see them win and always win," James said.
Dr. Hull says he expects Holmgren to start running and working out again in a few weeks.
The team says he is expected to be out 8-10 weeks in total, which would put him back in the lineup around around mid-January.