The Portland Trail Blazers announced on November 5 that guard Blake Wesley underwent surgery to repair a fracture of the fifth metatarsal base in his right foot and is expected to miss 8-12 weeks. The procedure was performed by Dr. Martin OâMalley at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, and Wesley will begin rehab immediately, per the team.Â
How Blake Wesley Got Hurt
Wesley suffered the injury during October 31âs win over the Denver Nuggets at Moda Center. He knocked down a 16-foot fadeaway with 3:52 left in the second quarter, then crashed awkwardly to the floor and stayed down as Aaron Gordon scored on a dunk at the other end. Play stopped, Portlandâs training staff attended to Wesley, and he limped to the locker room under his own power. He did not return after halftime.
Initial team guidance over the weekend listed him as out indefinitely while imaging confirmed a fracture of the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe. Wednesdayâs update provided the first concrete timetable, placing his return window at roughly two to three months (8â12 weeks) from the November 5 surgery date.Â
The 22-year-old reserve point guard had carved out a niche early, averaging 6.0 points, 3.2 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 16.3 minutes across six games, flashing baseline-to-baseline pressure defense that created multiple eight-second violations and consistent deflections. Those per-game figures underscore his value in Portlandâs full-court pressure packages, and was a huge reason the Blazers got off to a 4-3 start on the season.Â
Impact on Portlandâs Guard Rotation
Wesleyâs absence hits a backcourt already stretched. Starting point guard Scoot Henderson has been sidelined since late September with a left hamstring tear suffered during an offseason workout. The team placed Hendersonâs return-to-activity window at four to eight weeks on September 26, but âactivityâ is not the same as game clearance, so a cautious timeline remains logical. Meanwhile, wing defender Matisse Thybulle had surgery last week to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and is expected to be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.
The loss of Wesley could mean rookie Caleb Love gets more playing time. It could also signal different lineups for interim head coach Tiago Splitter. Splitter showed a little bit of each in Portlandâs most recent game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Love saw some time on the court, while Sidy Cissoko played his most meaningful minutes of the season.Â
The defensive drop-off is the bigger story. Wesleyâs pick-up-point pressure fueled early-clock turnovers — he has recorded multiple steals in five of six outings — allowing Portland to run off live-ball changes. Replicating that with committee options will be the challenge.Â
Timeline & Whatâs Next
Counting forward from November 5, an eight-week return lands in early January; a 12-week target pushes into late January/early February. Until then, Splitter and staff will likely lean on a defense-by-committee approach to preserve the full-court identity Wesley helped spark.
Wesley arrived in Portland this summer after beginning his career with the San Antonio Spurs, where he was the No. 25 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He briefly passed through Washington in July before signing with the Blazers on July 21. His high-motor defense has translated quickly in his first six games with Portland.Â
Big-picture takeaway
Given Hendersonâs ongoing recovery and Thybulleâs multi-week absence, Portlandâs margin is thin. If the Blazers keep forcing turnovers without Wesleyâs on-ball havoc, they can tread water; if the pressure ebbs, half-court execution must tighten. Either way, Wednesdayâs âsuccessful surgeryâ update provides clarity the locker room needed: a real window and a rehab plan, not an indefinite cloud.Â
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