Oklahoma City Thunder big man Nerlens Noel has been diagnosed with a concussion after a scary fall during Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Shams Charania from The Athletic. Further tests were made and they revealed that Noel had no fractures in his body.
After scary fall last night, Oklahoma City Thunder center Nerlens Noel has been diagnosed with a concussion — and tests showed he avoided any fractures, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) 9 de enero de 2019
The Thunder released a statement on Wednesday afternoon in which they say there’s no timetable for Noel to return and that he will enter to the NBA “Return to Participation Protocol”:
“This process includes a series of steps designed to ensure an athlete exhibits symptom-free behavior before resuming basketball activities. There is no predetermined timetable to complete the protocol, as each injury and player is different and recovery time can vary in each case.”
Noel suffered the injury trying to block a dunk attempt from Andrew Wiggins during the third quarter of the game. Noel’s head hit the ground after catching an elbow from Wiggins. The Thunder staff entered the court to check on him and almost immediately call for the stretcher to get Noel out of the court. After, Noel was taken to the OU Medical Center according to Maddie Lee from the Oklahoman.
OKC Thunder big man Nerlens Noel took a hard fall and was stretchered off the court shortly after pic.twitter.com/HWOsEjnB2q
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) 9 de enero de 2019
Nerlens Noel is at OU Medical getting further evaluation, per Billy Donovan
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) 9 de enero de 2019
Wiggins talked to the media after the game and when asked about Noel’s injury he said that he didn’t notice it until he saw Noel on the ground and that he hopes Noel can get healthy and come back soon.
Andrew Wiggins on the Nerlens Noel play, said he just tried to make an aggressive move and dunk: "I didn’t really see until I saw him on the ground, but hopefully he’s good. I hope nothing but the best for him. I hope he gets healthy soon and comes back stronger.”
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) 9 de enero de 2019
Another player that talked to the media about the injury was Noel’s teammate Steven Adams saying that it was unfortunate that it happened and that he believes that Wiggins didn’t mean to cause Noel the injury. Adams also said that the medical staff of the team did a good job controlling the situation.
Steven Adams on Nerlens Noel going down: “It was just a really s*** play. It’s unfortunate that it happened. Obviously Wiggins doesn’t mean to do any of that.” pic.twitter.com/NNVqQHiHQP
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) 9 de enero de 2019
