Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe sustained a non-contact injury to his left knee in a disappointing 104-111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, and the initial prognosis from the Suns’ camp was that it was merely a sprain to their starting point guard’s knee.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst refuted that claim, with sources indicating to him that Bledsoe suffered a much more severe ailment that would shelf him until after the All-Star break in February.
Suns’ Eric Bledsoe suffered a left knee injury last night. Initial belief is he will be out until after All-Star break according to sources.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) December 27, 2015
Phoenix confirmed these suspicions on Sunday evening, revealing that Bledsoe indeed did tear his left meniscus and will be out indefinitely after he’ll undergo surgery on Tuesday.
OFFICIAL: Suns guard @EBled2 sustained a torn meniscus in his left knee during Saturday night’s game & will undergo surgery on Tuesday.
— #WeArePHX (@Suns) December 28, 2015
This is a huge blow to the reeling Phoenix, who are reportedly mulling over head coach Jeff Hornacek’s job status as they are in the midst of a 5-15 tailspin in their last twenty games. The Suns were hoping to clinch a postseason berth for the first time 2009-10, and the feasibility of that occurring was starting to look grim with Bledsoe in the lineup. Faring without him will be a much tougher task, as the former Kentucky Wildcat was having an All-Star caliber campaign thus far.
Bledsoe was averaging a career-high 20.4 points per game, to go along with 6.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest as well. He and backcourt running mate Brandon Knight have resembled one of the better guard pairings in the league so far this season, but with Bledsoe out for the foreseeable future, it’ll be interesting to see how Knight handles the increased workload. Things may get ugly fast in Phoenix, and this Bledsoe injury may be the tip of the iceberg.
