Kevin Durant will have bone graft surgery on his ailing right foot and will miss the remainder of the season, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti announced Friday.
Durant will have the procedure early next week and is expected to return to basketball activities in the next 4-6 months.
The news comes a week after Presti announced that Durant been "removed from basketball activities" and insinuated he could be shut down.
Durant underwent surgery Feb. 23 to attempt to alleviate soreness and discomfort in his right foot that was being caused by a screw inserted in October during a procedure to repair a Jones fracture. After the second procedure, Durant was re-evaluated after a week, then re-evaluated again after another week, at which point Brooks updated the player's timetable to a "week or two."
Durant had intensified his on-court workouts before being removed from basketball activities last week, even returning to participate in parts of practice, including some 3-on-3. But the soreness that plagued him before the All-Star break and pushed him toward the second surgery was not resolved.
The reigning league MVP, Durant averaged 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 27 games this season.