The Washington Wizards were hoping to add depth to the wing position after losing Paul Pierce in free agency this summer. They made moves for Jared Dudley and Alan Anderson for depth as they watch Otto Porter continue to develop into a very important role player. But after Dudley had back surgery in July that is supposed to sideline him for 3-4 months, Anderson is also out after his own surgery.
The Wizards announced on Tuesday that Anderson had successful ankle surgery to remove a bony fragment from his left ankle. It's his second ankle surgery since May to clean up the ankle. He will begin rehab on his ankle immediately, but the team has not determined a timetable for his return. From the Wizards:
The Washington Wizards announced that forward Alan Anderson had successful surgery today to remove a small bony fragment in his left ankle. Anderson underwent left ankle surgery in May to remove bone spurs and was still experiencing pain caused by irritation from the fragment.
The procedure was performed by Dr. David Porter at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Anderson will begin the rehab process immediately, but a timeframe for his return has yet to be determined.
This certainly isn't ideal for the Wizards. You want to have everybody healthy going into the season so you can build continuity with new parts to the rotation. The good news is the Wizards may already have enough depth on the roster to deal with something like this, but Dudley and Anderson did factor into their plans for the rotation heading into this season. With the Wizards potentially turning into a much more modern offense with wings, interchangeable defenders, and 3-point shooting, Dudley and Anderson help immensely with that idea.
The good news is there is plenty of time for the Wizards to get healthy before the postseason. Hopefully Dudley can be back by December fully healthy and Anderson can fit into the timeframe as well.
