The Indiana Pacers will be without forward Obi Toppin for at least the next three months. After exiting Sunday's loss to Minnesota early due to injury, he has since been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot — the long bone on the outside that connects to the pinky toe.
He is scheduled to have surgery on Monday in New York. It will be performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
O’Malley is one of the most respected specialists in the country and is the same doctor who performed three Achilles tendon repairs for the team in the past year — for James Wiseman, Isaiah Jackson, and Tyrese Haliburton.
Before their game on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle announced that Toppin needs to have a screw inserted and would be out through January. That's at least three months.
It was clear that Toppin sustained a more significant injury when his right leg injury was updated to be a stress reaction in his right foot. A stress reaction often becomes a stress fracture — and requires surgery.
That’s the case here.
In addition to Toppin, the Pacers currently are without five others due to injuries: Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell, Kam Jones, Johnny Furphy, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin.
McConnell and Jones are expected out for at least a few more weeks.
I'm told Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard was on the court pre-game getting shots up. He's been out since the season opener with a shoulder strain.
Toppin's injury is another tough blow for a Pacers team already navigating an early-season stretch without several key contributors.
This injury creates a larger opportunity for third-year forward Jarace Walker, who scored a career-high 20 points last game after making his first start of the season.
Scott Agness is the longest-tenured Pacers beat reporter. He enters his 14th season covering the team and he's been around The Fieldhouse since 2003. He runs Fieldhouse Files — covering the Pacers, Boom, and Fever — and hosts "The Fieldhouse Files Podcast."