Raptors provide update on Chris Boucher's knee injury
The Toronto Raptors could be without Chris Boucher for the rest of the season, following an injury sustained on Saturday.
Boucher suffered a knee injury on a clutch last-second bucket Saturday in Portland, which sent the game to overtime.
Chris Boucher played a season-high 31 minutes on Saturday against the Blazers.
He finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds & 3 blocks.
pic.twitter.com/YyJGigtT54 https://t.co/5KZUdgKGBE
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) March 12, 2024
Raptors PR has provided an update on Boucher’s condition, saying the 6-foot-9 forward sustained a partial tear to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
“He will undergo further assessment by specialists and an update will be provided as appropriate,” the Raptors said in a media release.
Sportsnet’s Savanna Hamilton reports that Boucher isn’t expected to require surgery.
Chris Boucher sustained a partially torn MCL in his right knee.
He will undergo further assessment from a specialist
Team sources say that he’s not expected to require surgery.
— Savanna Hamilton (@SavHamilton11) March 11, 2024
But with just 18 games left in the regular season and the Raptors destined to miss the playoffs, this could be the end of Boucher’s 2023-24 season. The Raptors have a 23-41 record this season, which places them 12th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference.
Boucher is in the second year of a three-year, $35.25 million contract, but the Raptors appear to be at a crossroads with him.
The 31-year-old forward is averaging 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game. Boucher had been playing some of his best basketball of the season of late though, with 16 points and eight rebounds Saturday in Portland and 11 points and nine rebounds on Thursday in Phoenix.