Wembanyama’s injury came with 8:57 left in the second quarter on Tuesday, April 21, after he landed on his chin and appeared to briefly knock himself out. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion and placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol; the Spurs went on to lose 106-103, and the series heads back to Portland. So, how long will Wemby be out?
The NBA’s concussion protocol states that a player who has been diagnosed with a concussion cannot return to participation for at least 48 hours, including the date of diagnosis, and until they complete the required return-to-participation process. Wemby will be regularly monitored for 24 hours for the evolution of symptoms, the protocol states, after which a team physician will test him with a stationary bike, jogging, agility work and non-contact team drills. If a player is not symptom-free after a step, they must stop until they are symptom-free and begin the process again at the previous step.
Since Wemby suffered a concussion, he cannot return to play until he passes these requirements:
Ultimately, the Spurs team physician will determine whether Wemby is fully cleared to play. There is no exact timeline for how long a player could be out.
Game 3 is on Friday, April 24, in Portland. NBA wrote in a recent article, “It seems improbable that Wembanyama would be cleared by then.” But the NBA stated head coach Mitch Johnson isn’t speculating about his status.
“The protocol is the protocol,” Johnson said. “We’ll just follow it as everyone else does and plan accordingly.”
Regarding Wembanyama’s jaw injury, it doesn’t appear that the Spurs star sustained any additional injuries, as Johnson told ESPN that Wemby is not being evaluated for anything beyond a concussion.
MySA has reached out to the Spurs for comment on Wemby’s return.
The Spurs have been 12-6 in games where Wembanyama didn’t play at all, according to the NBA.