Veteran star Chris Paul is set to miss 4 to 6 weeks while recovering from hand surgery

Chris Paul is set to endure a surgical procedure to mend a fracture in his left hand and reports suggest that the Warriors guard won’t return until after next month’s NBA trade deadline. This means that he’s expected to be sidelined for approximately 4 to 6 weeks, according to ESPN.

Insider Adrian Wojnarowski was first to the scene. “After undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand this week, Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, sources told ESPN on Sunday,” he wrote.

The 38-year-old sustained the injury over the weekend during Golden State’s triumph against the Detroit Pistons. The only good news is that the eight-day All-Star break in February should help reduce the impact of the player’s absence.

Chris Paul is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair his fractured left hand, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/CxeqhHFIeO

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 7, 2024

During his 19 years as a player, the veteran star has undergone 11 different surgeries, six on his right hand and five on the left. One of the only positive take aways from this situation is that it coincides with the finalization of Draymond Green’s suspension, who has served a 12-match ban.

“In his 19 seasons, Paul has had five surgeries to his left hand and six to his right,” Wojnarowski stated. “His departure comes after Draymond Green’s suspension ends. Green is expected to return to game action sometime next week, sources said.”

Teammate Stephen Curry recognized his disappointment with losing Paul, but praised his conditioning.  “I don’t know how long he’ll be out, but I just feel for him personally because he does such an amazing job of taking care of his body, preparing himself day in, day out,” the superstar said. “Nobody sees the hours he puts in, especially at this stage of his career, to be available.

“A freak play like that to sideline him, it’s tough,” Curry added. “We’ll worry about the stuff with the team as it comes, but for him personally I just hope he keeps his spirits up and can get through this as quick as possible.”

Kuminga and Podziemski will probably receive more playing time now that CP3 is out until February

After talking about Paul’s recovery, coach Steve Kerr acknowledges that he wishes to give players like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski more playtime, but also explained how everyone in the team plays a role and some combinations perform better than others.

“I’ve got to get him out there for longer, but these are really difficult decisions,” the trainer shared about Kuminga. “Because it’s not just as simple as how many minutes a guy plays. It’s who’s playing, what’s the combination, what’s happening in the game.”

Curry also was asked about the team’s struggles, as he made clear the importance of being prepared to adapt to constant changing line-ups and injuries. “There’s a lot of narratives around our team and who’s supposed to play and our depth and the amount of guys you can argue should be in the rotation,” he expressed. “It’s just hard, a coach has a difficult job with that front.

“If you look at any team in the NBA, injuries when they pop up, you have to have that next-man-up mentality. That’s the challenge for us now, more combinations that we probably haven’t seen. We have to be able to take it in stride and execute and do what we need to do to stay and competitive and win games, but everybody’s gonna have an opportunity, so gotta stay ready,” Curry concluded.