Understanding Patrick Williams’ Navicular Injury
- Post By: Jeff Stotts
- Date:
- Category: NBA, Understanding...
The Chicago Bulls, already set to play the remainder of the season without Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine, announced Friday that Patrick Williams will need surgery on his ailing left foot. Originally diagnosed as bone edema in the midfoot, additional testing on the area revealed a fracture in the navicular bone.
Injuries to the navicular bone are not as common in the NBA as fractures to the fifth metatarsal but multiple players have endured the injury over the years. Recent players to sustain the injury include Joel Embiid, both Gasol brothers, and Alec Burks. Chicago fans may recall a young Michael Jordan missing 64 games after fracturing his left navicular during the 1985-86 season.
The navicular bone is one of the seven tarsal bones of the mid-foot and serves as an attachment site for an important ligament of the foot. The boat-shaped bone also acts as an anchor point for a muscle utilized in pointing the foot and moving it inward in inversion. Furthermore, the navicular aids in weight transfer and force absorption created with ground impact, making it a keystone of the mid-foot.
Treatment of navicular fractures is complicated by the amount of blood supplied to the bone. The ends of the navicular receive a decent amount of blood, meaning fractures limited to these areas are more likely to heal conservatively. Unfortunately, fractures that extend into the middle segment of the bone often require surgery. Very few NBA players with confirmed navicular injuries avoid surgery though Anthony Davis never went under the knife despite missing a total of 22 games throughout the 2022-23 season with a stress reaction in his navicular.
Recovery time following cases that require surgery is lengthy and almost always season-ending. While most NBA players to undergo navicular surgery were ready to play by the start of the following season, there are multiple cases that did not go smoothly. Big men like Embiid, Yao Ming, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas underwent multiple surgeries following their initial injury and TJ Warren missed nearly two years recovering from surgery for a stress fracture in his left navicular. A study from 2006 revealed some individuals report pain at the injury site for up to two years. Additionally, analysis shows athletes often display an increased loading pattern on their knees following surgery. This results in an increased chance at injuries like tendinosis and even meniscus injuries.
The Bulls medical staff will work with Williams during the recovery process to mitigate these risks and pinpoint any other underlying issues that may have contributed to the initial injury. Fortunately, Williams has a small advantage in recovery as he is younger than most other previous cases in the NBA. Look for the fourth-year forward to spend the next four months rehabbing his foot while also navigating restricted free agency.