Porter Jr. to have surgery, will likely miss the entire season
Mizzou basketball’s coveted freshman Michael Porter Jr. will likely miss the remainder of the season. MU released this statement on Tuesday.
“Michael Porter, Jr. will undergo surgery on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in Dallas, Texas. The procedure, a microdiscectomy of the L3-L4 spinal discs, has a projected recovery time of three-four months and will likely cause him to miss the remainder of the season.”
Porter Jr. posted this on instagram on Tuesday afternoon:
{“version”:”1.0″,”title”:””Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything…” I’ll be back “,”author_name”:”mpj”,”author_url”:”https://www.instagram.com/mpj”,”author_id”:5650880959,”media_id”:”1653169505277270230_5650880959″,”provider_name”:”Instagram”,”provider_url”:”https://www.instagram.com”,”type”:”rich”,”width”:658,”height”:null,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version=”7″ style=” background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px); width:calc(100% – 2px);”&#gt;&#lt;div style=”padding:8px;”&#gt; &#lt;div style=” background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:47.61904761904761% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;”&#gt; &#lt;div style=” background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;”&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt; &#lt;p style=” margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;”&#gt; &#lt;a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BbxPOf7j1jW/” style=” color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;” target=”_blank”&#gt;”Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything…” I’ll be back &#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt; &#lt;p style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”&#gt;A post shared by Michael Porter Jr. (@mpj) on &#lt;time style=” font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;” datetime=”2017-11-21T19:39:43+00:00″&#gt;Nov 21, 2017 at 11:39am PST&#lt;/time&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async defer src=”//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;”,”thumbnail_url”:”https://scontent-ort2-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/23734720_500134177046070_3132339848203993088_n.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:640,”thumbnail_height”:609}
Michael Porter Jr. also released this statement:
“I really appreciate the support of my family and the Mizzou Men’s Basketball program as I begin this process. I’m thankful for all the kind words and messages I’ve received from fans. Those mean a lot to me. I cannot wait to be completely healthy and playing the game I love, once again.”
Mizzou basketball coach Cuonzo Martin released this statement:
“Our top priority as a program is the well-being of our student-athletes, so Michael beginning this process to be 100 percent healthy is important to all of us. Our focus has been on Michael’s well-being, just like every other player in our locker room. We will continue to work every day to build Mizzou Basketball into a program to be proud of. We’re preparing now for a trip that is a tremendous opportunity. I’m excited to get after it in Orlando.”
Porter played just two minutes this season. He scored two points against Iowa State on Nov. 10. He reportedly tweaked something in his leg/hip area at the beginning of the game and told head coach Cuonzo Martin to take him out of the game. Porter did not return to the game and sat on the bench with an ice pack on his leg.
Porter Jr. has not sat with the team on the bench during games since Nov. 10.
Porter Jr. was the number one recruit in the nation coming out of Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, WA. He played his first three years at Tolton High School in Columbia, where he led the Trailblazers to their first state championship in school history.
Despite playing without Porter Jr., Mizzou has a record of 3-1. The Tigers are back in action on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. against Longbeach State in the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, FL.
