The injury bug that took two major chomps at Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace Sunday night has reportedly taken another victim on the OKC Thunder.
Alex Caruso has officially been diagnosed with a sprained ankle and has already been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
The injury was sustained midway through Monday's bout against Phoenix, Oklahoma City's first since losing J-Dub and Wallace. After a help contest on Dillon Brooks late in the second period, Caruso tweaked his right ankle on the way up, then fell to the floor and slapped his hands down while in visible pain.
Though he was able to walk back to the locker room under his own power, the veteran ultimately would not return for the second half of the Thunder's 125-114 win over Phoenix.
While a timeline for his return to action has not yet been revealed, it's worth noting that ESPN's Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania revealed on a Tuesday edition of NBA Today that, due to "how nasty" his sprain looked, he is expecting there will be "some level of time he is likely going to be missing."
Talk about a rough 24 hours!
Thunder having Déjà vu as injuries continue to pile up
The Thunder have been absolutely ravaged by injuries over these last three seasons.
Back during their championship-winning 2024-25 campaign, Chet Holmgren was the headline star who was hobbled by unfortunate health ailments, what with the right iliac wing fracture that held him to just 32 games.
Last season, Jalen Williams suited up for a mere 33 games as a result of both residual effects from offseason wrist surgery and multiple hamstring strains. The latter issues also cost him all but five games during the Thunder's deep, three-round playoff excursion.
Now, the list of injuries OKC is currently dealing with is reminiscent to that of a CVS receipt.
Ahead of Wednesday's matchup against the Mavericks, the Thunder have already ruled out six total players due to myriad injuries, including, but not limited to, Williams (Left Ankle Fracture), Holmgren (Right Knee Patellar Tendinitis), Cason Wallace (Left Shoulder Labral Tear), and Caruso (Ankle Sprain).
The only player listed on the injury report who has a chance at suiting up is Ajay Mitchell, who popped up on the list earlier today with a reported ankle sprain.
Needless to say, now entering just their fourth game of the season, the Thunder will be heavily reliant on their depth pieces to keep the team afloat moving forward.
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