Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard will undergo surgery for a lingering abdominal injury and will be out six to eight weeks, per Yahoo! Sports's Chris Haynes. The news of the procedure was confirmed by ESPN and The Athletic, although The Athletic reported Lillard will be out indefinitely and didn't mention a specific timeline.
Lillard has been dealing with the injury since the beginning of January. It was initially announced that he would miss three games with the injury, but then the team announced he would be out another six games while undergoing “further evaluation and consultation concerning his lower abdominal tendinopathy,” according to NBA.com.
Lillard met with two specialists in St. Louis and in Philadelphia, and both agreed surgery was the best course of action, per Yahoo! Sports. Whether or not he returns to the team this season will depend on the team’s standing and his health.
In his 29 appearances so far this season, Lillard is averaging 24 points and 7.3 assists per game. Despite his individual success, Portland is struggling, sitting 16–24 as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. The team has made the playoffs eight years in a row.
