Sixers say Simmons has successful surgery
"He's doing well," 76ers coach Brett Brown said Tuesday before the preseason game against Boston at the Mullins Center.
Brown spoke to the Sixers first-round pick Tuesday at about 4:20 p.m.
Simmons is expected to be sidelined three months, according to a source. However, there's a thought that the team could sit the franchise player for the entire season.
"I'm excited in a very sort of twisted way, once you come to grips with what happened," Brown said. "I'm excited to dig into a different part of his development."
The Sixers want to keep the rookie involved with his teammates. They also plan to work on his shot and have him study film of the NBA's elite point guards while he rehabilitates his injury. The Sixers are grooming the 6-foot-10, 250-pounder to become a point guard.
The Sixers had a lot of excitement heading into this season until Simmons suffered the injury while stepping on the foot on rookie power forward Shawn Long on Friday, the final day of training camp.
The typical recovery time for a Jones fracture is six to eight weeks. Teams usually add two to three weeks for recovery time. He'll be out around three months just to make sure an eager-to-play Simmons won't be rushed back.
Jones fractures or Zone 1 fractures occur at the intersection of the base and the shaft of the fifth metatarsal.
With a Jones fracture, there's a higher probability of re-fracturing the bone compared with a Zone 1 fracture, also known as an avulsion or "chip" fracture.
Cameron Payne may be a prime example of someone rushing back too fast from a Jones fracture.
The Oklahoma City guard suffered an acute fracture in the fifth metatarsal in his right foot Tuesday. The fracture is not related to the stress fracture Payne suffered during last season. But it makes you wonder whether he came back too soon from surgery July 25 to repair a Jones fracture.
Kevin Durant is another example. A Jones fracture was diagnosed in his right foot before the start of the 2014-15 season. He made his debut on Dec. 2, 2014 after missing the first 16 games of the season.
The injury led him to have more injuries that season and ultimately cut his campaign short.
Durant missed time later in December after injuring his ankle. Then he sprained his left big toe in January. On Feb. 22, he was sidelined after having a minor procedure to help reduce pain and discomfort in his surgically repaired foot. On March 27, he was ruled out the rest of the season after deciding to undergo foot surgery.
Martin O'Malley performed the surgery on Simmons. He is the associate attending orthopedic surgeon and fellowship director of the foot and ankle service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Sixers team doctor Jonathan Glashow assisted in the surgery.