Warriors' Will Richard hoping that thumb injury won't require surgery

If Will Richard can play, he will.

In a rough twist of fate for the Golden State Warriors‘ second-year wing, Richard’s left-thumb ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear – as revealed in the team’s injury report Sunday night – came on a simple box-out in Saturday’s overtime win over Orlando. He thought he’d just jammed the thumb. But this was a full and not partial UCL tear, as Richard told reporters pregame Monday, and suddenly the complexion of the 23-year-old’s season had shifted.

Conventional wisdom, given such a full tear, might suggest immediate corrective surgery.

Not so fast.

“We’re trying to wait until the swelling goes down,” Richard said Monday, while squeezing a red grip device in his left hand. “Do a workout, catching, going full speed and all that, see if it’s comfortable.

“But if I feel comfortable and confident, I want to play,” he continued. “I want to be out there for the guys.”

There are two typical paths in the event of a UCL tear in the thumb, said Dr. David Hay, an orthopedic surgeon and hand and wrist specialist in Los Angeles. If the joint remains stable, an athlete could return to play as soon as swelling decreases and a capable external stabilizer is found. If the joint is deemed unstable, though, the most obvious path is surgery, which – utilizing what’s called “suture augmentation” – could get Richard back to playing within four to six weeks, Hay said. 

If Richard does decide on surgery, then, he could be off the floor until well into December. The 2025 second-round pick had established himself as an early-season member of head coach Steve Kerr‘s rotation, averaging 5.1 points in 17.2 minutes per game and serving as a key defensive option off the bench.

“I mean, that’s an area on our team that we need to improve on is at the point of attack, and being able to guard those guys that are the main for the other team,” Richard told the Chronicle in late October. “So, I feel like that’s just my focus.”

Richard will likely find an answer to his decision on surgery by sometime next week, he said. If he goes under the knife and misses extended time, the Warriors will need consistent minutes from 33-year-old defensive stopper Gary Payton II, who also missed Monday’s game against the Pelicans with knee inflammation.

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This article originally published at Warriors’ Will Richard hoping that thumb injury won’t require surgery.