How long will Karl-Anthony Towns’ injury keep him out?

The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a major loss on Monday night when Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a lower leg injury in the third quarter of the team’s loss to the Wizards in Washington.

Towns went to the floor while grabbing his right calf, appearing to incur a non-contact injury. He was helped off the floor by his coaches and teammates. After the game, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported that the Timberwolves appeared to have dodged a bullet with Towns’ injury, stating that the consensus was that the injury could have been much worse.

Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a right calf strain in the Timberwolves’ loss

Everyone in Minnesota went to sleep concerned but somewhat relieved with the news that the injury was not as bad as it could have been. But early Tuesday afternoon, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Karl-Anthony Towns would still be out for multiple weeks with a right calf strain.

Towns’ current timeline for recovery is estimated at approximately four to six weeks, with the likelihood of a return to the court in January. This will obviously have a major impact on how the Minnesota Timberwolves approach the next month and a half.

While Timberwolves fans are certainly happy that their franchise star avoided a more serious injury that could have ended his season, a four-to-six week recovery window is still more lengthy than many would have hoped. The Timberwolves’ struggles will not get any easier with their versatile big man sidelined.

Still, this will give Minnesota the chance to experiment with different lineups and perhaps find success while being forced to play different players. No matter what happens, Timberwolves fans will be itching to see Karl-Anthony Towns return to the floor in 2023.