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USATSI

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has been ruled out indefinitely after suffering partial tears to his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane, as well as a lower leg contusion, the team announced on Sunday. An official timeline will be announced at a later date, but per Shams Charania, the injuries are expected to keep him out for multiple weeks. 

Curry suffered the injury on Saturday night during the Warriors' 119-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks, who were playing without Luka Doncic. During the third quarter, Curry was trying to defend a drive by Mavericks guard McKinley Wright IV, when the two appeared to knock knees. Curry's leg buckled inward and he left the game to head to the locker room. 

"He's going to come back this season and hopefully sooner rather than later," head coach Steve Kerr said of Curry on Sunday.

Curry missed 11 games earlier this season due to a left shoulder subluxation. Durability has always been a concern for the smaller Curry. He missed 18 games last season, and in the 2019-20 campaign, he suited up only five times. Early in his career, a series of ankle injuries hampered his development, but he was able to eventually overcome them and grow into an MVP-caliber player.

An extended Curry absence would be a serious concern for a Golden State team that is underperforming expectations this season. Despite winning the championship last year, the Warriors are just 27-26 through 53 games. They currently occupy the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, but the standings are so crowded that any time spent without Curry could knock them out of the play-in round entirely. The No. 13-seeded Lakers are currently only 2.5 games behind them.

The Warriors are deep at the guard positions. Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson can scale up their usage, and Donte DiVincenzo has had a strong comeback season in Golden State. But there is no proper substitute for the greatest shooter of all time, so the Warriors just need to hope their best player is healthy as soon as possible.

Another sub-plot here is that Curry will now likely miss the 2023 NBA All-Star Game, which is set to be held on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City. Potential injury replacements include Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker, Minnesota Timberwolves dynamo Anthony Edwards and Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox.