Rookie Iman Shumpert’s season came to a crashing halt on Christmas Day after colliding with Chris Wilcox of the Boston Celtics. Reports are that the injury is a MCL sprain and that he will miss 2-4 weeks. That would be a best case scenario.
The MCL (medial collateral ligament) stabilizes the inside of the knee. With projections of him missing 2-4 weeks, this is likely a Grade I or II sprain which is the least serious. A Grade III sprain is a complete rupture of the ligament which would have shelved Shumpert for 2-3 months. Initial treatment is to control the inflammation and pain, and Shumpert is likely receiving daily treatments by the Knicks training staff to expedite his recovery. A brace is often used to stabilize the knee. This protects the healing ligament while it is in this vulnerable state.
Unfortunately for Shumpert and the Knicks, the best way to treat this injury is rest and time. Ligamentous injuries such as this typically take 6-8 weeks to heal. A return in 2-4 weeks is not out of the question, but he will likely not be functioning at 100%. Any cutting will stress the MCL and may slow him down on the defensive side when trying to keep up with speedy point guards on the opposing team. This will also ground his explosiveness.
Although Iman may return to the court within a month, don’t expect him to be back to normal for closer to 6 weeks.