Moses Moody’s season is over after an MRI revealed significant damage to his left knee.
Team doctors diagnosed Moody with a torn patellar tendon based on the imaging, the Warriors announced in a press release on Tuesday afternoon. Moody will undergo surgery later this week.
According to Massachusetts General Hospital, rehab usually takes at least six months, with other sources recommending anywhere between six and 12 months.
In the more immediate future, his injury is another significant blow to the Warriors (34-38), who are all but destined for the win-or-go-home play-in tournament in April.
Moody, 23, injured his left knee on a breakaway dunk late in the Warriors’ overtime victory in Dallas on Monday.
He remained on the floor for several minutes and was carted to the locker room by medical staff in Dallas. Moody underwent X-rays at the arena, and was reported to be walking with crutches while wearing a bulky brace around his left knee, but did not undergo an MRI until arriving back in the Bay Area on Tuesday.
It ended a strong year for Moody, who is averaging a career high in points (11.9) and rebounds (3.3) per game along with 3-point percentage (40.2%) in 59 starts during the first year of his three-year, $37.5 million extension signed before last season.
“It’s tough,” Gary Payton II said. “It’s his first game back and he’s done so much rehab and everything, does what he needs to do to get back, and just to see a non-contact thing happen. It’s annoying to see. Especially to Moses. Moses does all the right things. It sucks to see Moses go down.”
The Warriors, who were already without Steph Curry (runner’s knee), Jimmy Butler III (torn ACL) and Al Horford (calf strain), return home after a six-game road trip to play Brooklyn on Wednesday. Curry could return as soon as Friday if his knee responds well to scrimmages, but Butler is out for the season.