The Denver Nuggets will have to move on without one of its veteran gunners, with reports that Wilson Chandler will need to go season-ending hip surgery for an injury sustained during the preseason.
Chandler was diagnosed with a labral tear and is scheduled to undergo surgery in New York this coming week. The whole process will include a six-month rehabilitation period before he can return to National Basketball Association (NBA) action.
This development will be a big blow to the Nuggets who are making a good account of themselves with the revitalization efforts of general manager Tim Connelly and first-year head coach Michael Malone.
The injury also comes at a bad time, considering Chandler has just signed a four-year extension with the Nuggets worth $46.5 million. His veteran presence is something that will be sorely missed, something that could have helped guide the youth-filled Nuggets quintet.
The Nuggets are currently sporting an even 4–4 record. It remains to be seen what adjustments coach Malone will undergo.
For Chandler, this will be his second time to undergo hip surgery, the first one coming way back in 2012.
Chandler couldn't hide his frustration on the season-ending injury, working hard in the offseason to improve and help Denver. He played in 78 games last season, one of the rare times he was able to play an entire season injury-free.
Chandler was already aware of the injury when the Nuggets played the Houston Rockets in the season opener but had hoped that resting it could somehow remedy and make it better.
Apparently, the alternative failed to do so and now he has no recourse but to accept the necessary and undergo another surgery.
While being sidelined for a whole season seems to be a long road ahead for Chandler, the good news is that he knows what he will need to do once he fully recovers. It seems like a tedious process but at this point, Chandler has no other options.
