The road to recovery is underway for Zhaire Smith.
In a statement from vice president of athlete care Dr. Daniel Medina, the Sixers announced Friday that Smith underwent successful surgery to repair an acute Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. The procedure was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley, associate attending orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
The statement added that more information on Smith’s recovery and a timetable on his return to the court will be provided as the details become available.
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Smith, the No. 16 pick in the 2018 NBA draft, sent a message to fans from his hospital bed via his Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmTv1xflX0b/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=ouyjykpn14p9
Smith suffered the injury to his foot on Monday during a development camp in Las Vegas hosted by Tim Grgurich, who is a former NBA assistant and head coach at Pitt.
Prior the injury, Smith (6-4, 199) averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game for the Sixers during the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League.
NBA
Dealing with an injury to a rookie is nothing new for the Sixers (see story).
While Smith's ailment shouldn't have nearly the impact on the team as previous first-year players (see story), the Sixers are still forced again to deal with a significant setback for a rookie.