How James Wiseman’s injury severity, age will impact recovery

James Wiseman's meniscus tear might've ended his rookie season, and the Warriors can't bank on his return.

Whether he misses the remainder of the regular season or much longer than that, however, depends upon the severity of his injury.

A smaller tear would entail a four-to-six week recovery, according to Dr. Nirav Pandya, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at UCSF. Pandya hasn't examined Wiseman's injury, nor did he provide an official diagnosis.

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Glad this was not an ACL tear for #Wiseman; a lot depends on the location of the tear & it's size. If it's small and/or in an area with poor blood supply, it can get "shaved out" and lead to a 4-6 week recovery. Bigger tears need a repair = 4-6 months recovery. #DubNation https://t.co/Kb2wyDPGsS
— Dr. Nirav Pandya, M.D. (@DrNiravPandya) April 11, 2021

A February review of injuries in the NBA and WNBA -- co-authored by Dr. Sachin Allahabadi, a UCSF orthopedic surgery resident -- cited a pair of studies that found 80.5 percent of players who sustained torn menisci didn't experience a significant change in PER upon their return. Pandya tweeted that Wiseman's age bodes well for his recovery from the injury, and he told KRON-TV's Kylen Mills that the Warriors would be wise to take their time ensuring Wiseman fully recovers.

GOOD NEWS for #DubNation - @DrNiravPandya weighs in on James Wiseman's injury. He says in general 80% of NBA players get back to playing after a meniscus tear, and the fact that he's young means it's more likely to heal. We'll have more at 10:30 & 11 on @kron4news #NBA pic.twitter.com/9jnEZtI7MT
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) April 12, 2021

"I think the key thing is just making sure that, even though people are gonna be impatient wanting him to come back or wanting him to rehab, the most important thing for his development over the next five-to-10 years is to get his meniscus right," Pandya told Mills.

"So if that means missing the summer or missing some part of training camp because he's healing, that's going to be much more important to his play rather than a couple months of extra time during the summer where he could be picking up some skills. You only have one meniscus [in each leg], and it's important for him to get it healed right."