Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell underwent a “medical procedure” on Tuesday morning to realign a nasal fracture he sustained on Saturday vs. Houston, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter). He’ll be sidelined for at least one more week, which is when he’ll be reevaluated.
The nasal fracture occurred when teammate Tristan Thompson inadvertently elbowed Mitchell in the face. Thompson was in his first game back following a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program, specifically testing positive for two drugs classified as “steroids and performance enhancing drugs.”
Mitchell is dealing with multiple injuries at the moment.
He told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com and other media members on Saturday that he expects to miss more time due to a nagging knee injury. The five-time All-Star was sidelined for seven consecutive games with the left knee bone bruise, which required a PRP injection to promote healing, before returning for a pair of games last week.
However, Mitchell clearly wasn’t himself physically, and he admitted as much following Saturday’s game.
Mitchell, who was out for Monday’s victory over Indiana, will miss at least four more games over the next week, with the earliest he could return being next Wednesday in Charlotte.
Cleveland has gone 10-9 in 19 games without Mitchell thus far in 2023/24. The Cavs are currently 43-25, the No. 3 seed in the East.