Aaron Nesmith Injury Update
Aaron Nesmith is still out for the Indiana Pacers with a left knee MCL sprain. The team expects him to miss around a month of action from the date of the injury so his return window is in mid December if rehab goes smoothly without a setback.
Nesmith went down in a road game against the Phoenix Suns in mid November. He landed awkwardly after his right foot came down on a teammates foot and his left knee buckled which sent him to the floor in clear pain.
He had to be helped to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the game very quickly which raised concern about a major injury.
The first update from the Pacers staff used softer language and called it left knee soreness or a sprain. Later testing showed an MCL sprain in the left knee but no full ligament tear and no other structural damage which was viewed as good news.
Rick Carlisle said the team felt it had avoided a worst case outcome even though Nesmith would still miss several weeks.
Carlisle has repeated that the rough timetable is at least four weeks on the sideline. He even pointed to December fifteen as a date when there could be a better sense of whether Nesmith is close to a return.
Reports before the Pacers game against the Pistons on November twenty four said Nesmith is expected to miss at least three more weeks so nothing has changed with the outlook yet.
Official league injury reports still list him as out with a left knee MCL sprain. There have been no signs of a ramp up to game activity such as a questionable tag or a minutes limit discussion.
That fits with the team message that this is a multi week recovery and not a day to day issue.
Before he got hurt Nesmith was an important piece for Indiana on both ends. He was averaging a career high in points per game and giving the Pacers energy on the wing with solid rebounding and spacing.
He had already posted a career best thirty one point game in a win over Golden State which showed how much the staff trusted him in a bigger role.
With Nesmith out the Pacers have had to shuffle their rotation again. Wings like Ben Sheppard Jarace Walker and Cody Martin are seeing more minutes as the team tries to replace his defense and cutting.
The problem is that Indiana is already dealing with several other injuries so the group has little continuity and the record has suffered.
For now nothing points to season ending trouble for Nesmith and the team keeps framing the diagnosis as relatively positive. The key will be how his knee responds when he moves from rest and rehab into full basketball work in early or mid December.
Disclaimer
This injury update reflects the latest information available regarding Aaron Nesmith’s left knee MCL sprain. Timelines may change as the Indiana Pacers monitor his recovery. For official updates, refer to the Pacers' team announcements and medical reports.
