Anthony Edwards Set for Knee Surgery, Could Miss Up to Two Months
Anthony Edwards is headed for surgery on his right knee, and he could be out for up to two months. ESPN reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves star will have an arthroscopic procedure on Thursday.
An arthroscopic procedure is a small operation. Surgeons make tiny cuts, slide in a thin camera, and fix what they find inside the joint. The Timberwolves had not publicly announced the plan as of Tuesday. They had listed Edwards as questionable for Wednesday's game against Golden State before the decision was made.
The timing stings because Edwards has been on a tear. He scored 45 points in the season-opening win at Miami, then poured in 47 in a loss to Cleveland on Monday night. Across the first four games he averaged 33.3 points and led Minnesota to three wins. His 133 points through four games are a Timberwolves record, topping the 120 he scored two seasons ago.
The right knee has been a recurring issue. He had been on recent injury reports with a right knee problem. Last season he played in only 61 games, mostly because of knee trouble. Earlier in his career, he missed five games with patellofemoral pain syndrome, a painful irritation around the kneecap, before returning to practice. Over his first five seasons he had missed 19 of a possible 400 games.
His knee also flared up in the spring. He hyperextended his left knee and bruised the bone during a playoff game in April, missed two games, and was later cleared for on-court work. That history is part of why this procedure has drawn attention, though the Timberwolves have not yet laid out a timeline.
The Guardian reported that a more precise return date will be known only after the surgery is done. Until then, the honest answer is that Minnesota will be without its leading scorer for a stretch of the season, and the length of that stretch is still to be determined.
Edwards was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. He is a four-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA selection, and he was part of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Paris. His career scoring average is 24.6 points per game. Whenever he is back, that is the number Minnesota will be counting on.
