Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren is expected to miss a significant portion of the regular season, sources told ESPN, after he has surgery to correct a stress fracture on his left foot.
The Pacers on Thursday night described the surgery as repairing “a small navicular” fracture.
This is a significant blow to the Pacers, as Warren led the team in scoring last season at 19.8 points per game. He was explosive in the Orlando restart, including a 53-point performance on his way to averaging nearly 27 points in the bubble.
The 27-year-old Warren is averaging 15.5 points this season. He had season-ending surgery for a stress fracture in 2016 while with the Phoenix Suns, and he returned for the start of the following season in strong form.
Warren has emerged as one of the East’s better small forwards since arriving from Phoenix in a draft day trade in 2019.
