Knicks C Mitchell Robinson out at least 3 weeks after surgery to repair broken thumb
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will miss nearly a month after he underwent surgery to repair a broken right thumb on Thursday, the team announced.
Robinson left Wednesday’s 116-105 loss to the Washington Wizards in the first quarter with the injury, and underwent surgery on Thursday morning. The team will evaluate him in three weeks.
Mitchell Robinson underwent successful surgery today to repair his fractured right thumb at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) January 19, 2023
Robinson has averaged 7.2 points and a career-high 8.9 rebounds per game this season, his fifth with the team. He’s averaging 4.3 offensive rebounds per game, too, which is better than everyone in the league except for Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams. The Knicks are outscoring teams by 8.2 points per 100 possessions when Robinson is on the floor, per ESPN, compared to being outscored by more than a point when he’s out.
Robinson, 24, is in the first year of a four-year, $60 million deal with the Knicks.
The Knicks’ loss on Wednesday marked their second straight, and dropped them to 25-21 on the season — which is good for the seventh-best in the Eastern Conference.
If Robinson is only out for three weeks, he could end up missing just 11 games and could return for the Knicks’ matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 10. The team will likely lean on Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims down low until then.
