BOSTON — In the moments following Kemba Walker’s neck injury in Friday’s loss at Denver, the three-time All-Star suffered numbness and tingling in his fingers, but never lost consciousness according to Celtics team doctor Tony Schena.
Dr. Schena, addressing the media prior to Monday’s game against Sacramento to provide an update on Walker’s status, detailed the process by which the Celtics medical staff went about treating Walker, who will not play Monday night but is slated to participate in practice on Tuesday.
Like most of us who saw the injury, Dr. Schena and the team’s medical staff thought initially that the injury would be more serious than it turned out to be.
“Thankfully it turned out to be not that serious,” said Dr. Schena, who proceeded to detail what Walker and the medical staff have done the past 72 hours.
After the initial tingling and numbness passed, the decision was made to keep Walker on the Pepsi Center floor as a precautionary measure, Dr. Schena said.
He was soon transported to the back of the Pepsi Center where an initial X-ray was performed. Walker was then transported to a trauma center where he was then given a full neurological examination.
The test revealed Walker had no significant structural damage.
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Walker was then evaluated by a neurosurgeon.
Based on the findings, all those involved in the process and evaluations felt comfortable with Walker returning to Boston with the team.
Once back in town, Walker went through another series of tests and evaluations, all of which showed that he was in relatively good health and would not be sidelined for a significant period of time.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens anticipates Walker will be available to practice some tomorrow, which means he’ll most likely be a game-time decision for Wednesday’s matchup against Brooklyn.
“We’re obviously extremely happy that we’re in the position now that his injury turned out to not be too significant,” Dr. Schena said.
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