Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Cameron Payne has elected to not have surgery on an acute fracture in his right foot and will be re-evaulated in six to eight weeks, the team announced Tuesday.
"Over the last several days, Cameron has had consultations with multiple specialists to determine the best course of action to treat his right foot injury," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. "Based on these consultations and the options provided, Cameron has chosen to pursue a non-surgical route provided by the physicians that is intended to ideally allow the bone to heal on its own and avoid surgery."
Payne injured the foot at a team scrimmage last week. In July, he had surgery to repair a Jones fracture on the same bone. With that in mind, Payne has elected to forgo the surgery, with an understanding that if the bone doesn't heal properly on its own, he may have to undergo one later.
"Cameron, his representatives, and the Thunder fully understand that if the bone is not healing appropriately, or if at any point there is a setback in his return to play, surgery may still be required," Presti said.
Payne was cleared to return for training camp following his surgery in July and the team says the two injuries were unrelated. The original injury was a stress fracture while the recent one is an impact fracture.
Payne, 21, averaged 5.0 points and 1.9 assets in 57 games (one start) last season.
