Collin Sexton is out for the year; 3 questions and answers

Question: Why is Collin Sexton out for the season?

For nearly two weeks after Sexton’s injury the team (and all of the various newsbreakers) were silent concerning a timetable for his return. A number of options were before him, anywhere from a couple of weeks of rehab to season-ending surgery.

In last season’s playoffs Joel Embiid suffered a meniscus tear that was small enough that he was able to quickly return within a week to play a full seven games in a second round matchup. The silence suggested Sexton might be pursuing such a return without surgery, and reading between the lines of the Cavaliers’ press release suggests the same:

Alas, in the end Sexton appears to have been forced to choose a surgical option, and the lengthy recovery timetable tells us definitively that he had a meniscus repair surgery.

Answer: Collin Sexton underwent a meniscus repair surgery, which has the longest recovery time

If Sexton had elected for a meniscus trim, he could have made it back onto the court much sooner but faced potential long-term degradation in his knee. Instead, it appears he elected for a meniscus repair, which maximizes the cartilage in the knee but requires a significantly longer recovery time.

The good news is that most players who have a full meniscus repair return to their pre-injury production on the court. When players do have recurring knee issues, it is often because they got the meniscus trim, or that they rushed back after getting the full repair.

Recently players with meniscus injuries have been taking longer to return, giving the knee and the meniscus plenty of time to heal. Jaren Jackson Jr. took nine months to return after a meniscus injury in the NBA Bubble. James Wiseman is seven months into his recovery and is not quite cleared for 5-on-5 action.

It is somewhat interesting that Sexton has already punted on a return this season. The end of the season is five months away, which is within the recovery range for this injury. Is the location or severity of the tear such that Sexton expects a long recovery? Or is he purposefully avoiding a short comeback at the end of the season where he is not fully himself? Either way, it will be a long time until we see Sexton suit up again.