Raptors big man out for season with MCL injury

Raptors center Ulrich Chomche will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Wednesday in a press release.

According to the Raptors, Chomche has been diagnosed with a partial proximal MCL tear after injuring his right knee in the third quarter of a G League game last Thursday. The club says he’ll rehab the injury to be ready for the Summer League in July.

Chomche, the 57th overall pick in the 2024 draft, signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Raptors and entered the season as the youngest player on any NBA roster. The big man, who turned 19 in December, has logged just 32 total minutes across seven NBA games for Toronto, having spent the majority of his rookie year with the Raptors 905 in the G League.

In 33 total games for the 905, Chomche has averaged 7.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 23.8 minutes per game.

Since they used a draft pick on him and signed him to a two-year deal, the Raptors may keep Chomche under contract during his recovery. They hope he’ll continue developing this summer and warrant a two-way slot again in 2025-26. Still, it’s worth noting that the deadline to sign two-way contracts is March 4, so if Toronto wants to replace him for the home stretch of this season, it would have to be done by that date.