Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter underwent a non-surgical procedure at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex Monday and will return to activity following three days of “unloading,” the team announced in a press release.
Atlanta’s announcement is light on specifics, but it’s safe to assume the procedure relates to Hunter’s right knee. He underwent meniscus surgery in February and was experiencing some swelling and soreness upon his return. A PRP injection is a logical possibility, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, though it’s worth noting that’s just informed speculation.
While the Hawks and Hunter certainly would’ve preferred to be able to avoid a follow-up procedure altogether, it doesn’t sound like this one was too serious. As Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets, head coach Nate McMillan said that the procedure “absolutely” won’t keep Hunter sidelined for the rest of the season. We’ll have to wait for more details on his recovery timeline, but it could be a relatively short-term absence for the former lottery pick.
In 20 games so far this season (31.3 MPG), Hunter has averaged 16.0 PPG and 5.1 RPG on .502/.356/.867 shooting. Until he returns, the Hawks figure to lean more heavily on wings like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, Tony Snell and Lou Williams.
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