Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (finger) is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left pinky finger, according to sources.
The Raptors announced the surgery was performed Tuesday by Dr. Michelle Carlson in New York City. Poeltl, 28, injured the finger during the first half of Sunday’s 111-106 win against the Charlotte Hornets.
His initial X-rays came back negative for a fracture. The 7-footer missed 11 games earlier this season with a sprained left ankle. Kelly Olynyk started the second half in Poeltl’s place.
Jakob Poeltl injury update.
He underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament, per Raptors pic.twitter.com/8uf938lmDn
— Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh) March 6, 2024
Through 50 games (all starts) this season, the Austrian big man is averaging 11.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 26.4 minutes per game while shooting 65.6% from the field.
Poeltl scored a season-high 19 points in losses to the Philadelphia 76ers (Dec. 22), Oklahoma City Thunder (Feb. 4), and Indiana Pacers (Feb. 14). He grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds at Detroit (Dec. 30) and against Golden State (March 1) as well.
The eight-year veteran ranks 18th in offensive rebounds (146) this season, 14th in blocks (76), second in field goal percentage, 13th in true shooting percentage (65.3%), and 11th in block percentage (5%).
Toronto Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl (left pinky finger) joins Scottie Barnes (left middle finger) on the injury report
Furthermore, All-Star guard Scottie Barnes also broke his left middle finger against Golden State on Friday and is out indefinitely. Barnes, 22, underwent surgery on his broken finger Monday in Los Angeles.
“Any time somebody that plays 40 minutes a night is not in the game, I think everything changes,” Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley said after Toronto’s win over Charlotte.
“But you try to keep it the same as much as you can. Everybody came in, chipped in, played with great effort. That’s what we’re going to need.”
Raptors announced that Scottie Barnes went through a successful surgery on his left hand. pic.twitter.com/rMBv2U9nTT
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) March 5, 2024
For insurance, the Raptors signed third-year guard Jahmi’us Ramsey to a 10-day contract Tuesday morning. Ramsey, 22, was selected 43rd overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Texas Tech.
“I know that he can shoot the ball. I know that he did a really good job in the G League, averaging some impressive numbers coming off the bench,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We were able to see him a little bit in our playgroups as well. And I can confirm he did not miss a shot this morning.”
Ramsey was averaging 20.6 points per game while shooting 40.6% from 3-point range with the Oklahoma City Blues in the G League this season.
The Raptors visit the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
