A big blow was dealt to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night as guard Eric Bledsoe left Saturday's game versus the Philadelphia 76ers with a meniscus injury. He had to be helped up and carried by his teammates.
The Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro reports that the results of an MRI showed a torn meniscus in Bledsoe’s knee. After meeting with team doctors, the 6'1" point guard is to undergo surgery on Tuesday. There isn't an exact timetable but Bledsoe is expected to miss about six weeks.
In other reports, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Bledsoe could be out through the mid-February All-Star break, while Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski added that the Suns have lost Bledsoe for six weeks due to the injury.
The absence of Bledsoe on the floor is a big loss for the Suns moving forward. The point guard was averaging career-bests of 20.4 points, 6.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game this season. His All-Star like statistics and play has brought an extra dynamic to the Suns squad. Without him the team lacks offensive shot makers and should struggle trying to replace him. The Suns will likely move Brandon Knight to the starting point guard spot. The Suns have started rookie Devin Booker at shooting guard in two games this season. Ronnie Price, Sonny Weems and Archie Goodwin have a chance to see an increase in playing time with Bledsoe absent from the roster.
This is not the first time the Phoenix guard has had to come back from injury during his five-year NBA career. His most significant injuries have been meniscus-related but not on the same knee. In October of 2011, Bledsoe had an operation on his meniscus in his right knee, missing four months of action in the process. In his 2013-2014 season, he missed 33 games with a partial meniscus tear in his right knee. The second operation to the knee removed the meniscus rather than repairing it.
With a major part of the Suns team missing, many eyes will be looking to coach Jeff Hornacek in how he reacts to the situation. At 12-20 on the season, Hornacek has already been under fire for his handling of the team and his future is uncertain moving forward. It will be important that Booker and the Suns bench step up to alleviate the vacancy that Bledsoe's absence has left.