Warriors star Kevin Durant announced Wednesday on Instagram that he ruptured his Achilles tendon and underwent successful surgery in New York after leaving Monday's Game 5 of the NBA Finals early.
He added a heartfelt message with a photo of himself in a hospital bed.
"My road back starts now! I got my family and my loved ones by my side and we truly appreciate all the messages and support people have sent our way," Durant wrote. "Like I said Monday, I'm hurting deeply, but I'm OK. Basketball is my biggest love and I wanted to be out there that night because that’s what I do. I wanted to help my teammates on our quest for the three peat.
"Its (sic) just the way things go in this game and I'm proud that I gave it all I physically could, and I'm proud my brothers got the W. It's going to be a journey but I'm built for this. I’m a hooper I know my brothers can get this Game 6, and I will be cheering with dub nation while they do it."
Durant, who had not played in 32 days since suffering a calf injury, went down in the second quarter of Monday's game and had to be helped off the court. He left the arena on crutches.
He had worked his way back into the lineup after going down in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Rockets, forcing him to miss the Warriors' previous nine playoff games.
Coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday that Durant had been cleared by multiple parties, including an outside consultant. The main concern was just about the possibility of Durant re-injuring his calf so they were surprised by the Achilles injury.
"That was the advice and information we had," Kerr told reporters. "At that point once Kevin was cleared to play he was comfortable with that so the Achilles came as a complete shock. ... Would we go back and do it over again? Damn right."
Kerr added: "If we knew this was in the realm of possibility, we would’ve never allowed Kevin to come back.”
Kevin Durant injury update: pic.twitter.com/dAYNGie8Ji
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) June 12, 2019
The Warriors rallied from a six-point deficit late in Game 5 to cut the Raptors' NBA Finals lead to 3-2. The Warriors host Game 6 Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.