The basketball world was put on high alert on Wednesday night after Kevin Durant was abruptly ruled out of what should have been his home debut for the Phoenix Suns just moments before their matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder tipped off. It was then revealed on Thursday that KD had suffered a left ankle sprain and is now expected to be sidelined for an undetermined period of time.

Fortunately for Suns fans, we have Dr. David J. Chao, a former NFL head team doctor with more than 17 years of experience in the field of injury management, providing some optimistic updates on the status of KD moving forward:

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To sum up Dr. Chao's detailed and very technical analysis above, what he seems to be saying is that Kevin Durant did NOT suffer an overly serious injury. The Suns superstar is still going to miss a few games because of this freak incident, but the good news is that he should be back in the mix sooner rather than later. This won't be a regular-season-ending injury for Durant, at least according to Dr. Chao.

The good doctor also points out that there appears to be no structural damage to the ankle. It's also not a high ankle sprain, which would have kept Durant out for a longer period. The fact that the injury is not on the same side as his surgically-repaired Achilles also bodes well for KD's recovery timetable.

At this point, the Suns have not provided a target date for Durant's return to action. However, if all Dr. Chao is saying here is true, Phoenix fans can rest easy now that they know that KD has dodged a major bullet here.