Westbrook Has Surgery To Repair Broken Cheek Bone

By Randy Renner

The hits just keep coming in the Thunder's most challenging season since moving to Oklahoma City.

Russell Westbrook was accidentally kneed in the face late in last night's loss to Portland by teammate Andre Robertson and this morning in Los Angeles Russ underwent surgery to repair the damage.

Here is the statement released this afternoon by the team:

"Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook underwent a successful procedure today to address a fracture to the zygomatic arch of his right cheek, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced.

The procedure was performed by Dr. John Joseph Rehm and Dr. Jason Hamilton with Thunder medical personnel present at the Osborne Head and Neck Institute in Los Angeles, Calif. Westbrook will miss tomorrow’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers and will be re-evaluated later this week.

In 45 games this season (all starts), Westbrook is averaging 26.5 points, 8.1 assists and 6.8 rebounds in 33.0 minutes per game. Westbrook has recorded three straight triple-doubles and after last night’s performance in Portland, his 31.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists for the month of February made him the first player since Oscar Robertson to achieve those marks over the course of a month."

Even though the Thunder release just mentions tomorrow's game with the Lakers, he may also miss Wednesday's home game with Philadelphia and Thursday's road game at Chicago. The Thunder then begin a four game home stand a week from Sunday when Toronto comes to town.

Westbrook will likely be re-evaluated before the 76ers game and fitted with a mask so it's possible he could return to the lineup fairly soon. Those decisions will be made in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Kevin Durant, Enes Kanter and Steven Adams are also expected to miss the Lakers game.