Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo will not require surgery and will be re-evaluated in three weeks as he recovers from a left great toe injury he suffered on Jan. 15, the team said in a statement Friday.
On Monday, the Wolves said DiVincenzo would be out indefinitely after he was initially diagnosed with a Grade 3 left great toe sprain. But after seeking a second opinion, an exam showed “a stable turf toe injury with a partial tear of the plantar ligament, not requiring surgery,” per the team’s release.
The three weeks DiVincenzo will be out coincides with the start of the All-Star break, so he will likely be out at least until the Wolves play their first game following that that on Feb. 21.
The update is good news for the team and DiVincenzo after surgery appeared to be an option following an initial magnetic resonance imaging exam DiVincenzo had earlier this week. The recovery timetable from that injury and procedure could have lasted months; however, the update still means DiVincenzo will miss a significant number of games with no guarantee he will be ready to go once the All-Star break is over.
After a slow start to the season, DiVincenzo had been playing his best basketball in a Wolves uniform in the weeks prior to the injury. He had entered the starting lineup for Mike Conley and had shot 44% from three-point range in the 12 games before getting hurt late in a loss to Golden State. For the season he is averaging 11 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists. DiVincenzo had a walking boot on in the team’s locker room Monday in Memphis, but he was moving around the practice facility without one Friday.
Gobert pledges better rebounding
Over the past few games, Wolves coach Chris Finch has said the team has needed more rebounding from Rudy Gobert, especially after Gobert had just four in Monday’s 108-106 loss at Memphis. Gobert agreed, and said Friday he was determined to get back to his old self in that department.
“I got to be better. Don’t overthink it. Just go get it,” Gobert said. “Sometimes I overthink, which takes me out of the flow. In a way, I get distracted a little bit, with people telling me the way I should do it and I know how to rebound. So, got to trust my instincts and go get it.”
The Wolves have had a busy travel schedule in January, and Gobert said there were nights he didn’t “have as much energy” as others, but that was little excuse for not being able to corral rebounds that are within his reach. He has to do a better job of grabbing those boards while the rest of the team has to do a better job of grabbing long rebounds off missed threes.
