The Washington Wizards lost rookie Deni Avdija to what has been confirmed as a season-ending leg injury on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors. The Wizards have already released the official diagnosis of the 20-year-old's injury and it's a generally positive development in this otherwise devastating turn of events.
According to the team, Avdija will not need to go under the knife (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):
Deni Avdija has been diagnosed with a right fibular hairline fracture, the @WashWizards have announced.
He will not require surgery and is expected to make a full recovery in approximately 12 weeks. pic.twitter.com/xJjfx3gD7F
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 23, 2021
While Avdija's season is still over, this is certainly an encouraging development with regards to the injury. The fact that he won't have to undergo surgery means that the injury is not as serious as initially anticipated. A fibular hairline fracture is still a significant injury, but the Wizards rookie should be able to resume basketball activities sooner than expected. 12 weeks is still 12 weeks though, and we don't expect Avdija to return this season.
It is worth noting, however, that right now, the Wizards have emerged as one of the hottest teams in the NBA. They have won six straight games and are all of a sudden in playoff contention in the East. They currently sit three and a half games behind the eighth-seeded Charlotte Hornets (as of Thursday afternoon), so it's still going to be a tough ask for them to claim a spot in the postseason.
Nevertheless, the fact that the league intends to implement a play-in tournament for the playoffs provides Washington with even more hope to make an unlikely appearance in the postseason. It's too early to tell at this point, but for Wizards fans, there's nothing wrong with being cautiously hopeful here.
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