How worrisome is Cam Thomas injury?

SB Nation

It’s always tricky to make a judgment on a player’s health when you don’t have access to his or her medical history or test results, but we all want to know what’s going on and what could be the long term

prognosis when the player goes down as Cam Thomas did last week with a hamstring issue. In Thomas case, it’s particularly of note because of his 57 missed games last season, 53 were the result of three similar issues.

The Brooklyn Nets announced Thursday that Thomas has left hamstring strain that would be evaluated in three to four weeks. Historically, the Nets don’t provide much detail whenever a player goes down, merely citing the length of time before the player will be re-evaluated … which is more often than not a baseline timeframe and not an indication of how long someone will be in street clothes.

Thomas in speaking with the media Thursday downplayed things despite his history. Indeed, he suggested that his previous injuries will help him deal with this one.

“It’s obviously frustrating being hurt with anything — whether it’s an ankle, a foot, whatever the case may be. Nobody wants to be injured,” said Thomas, 24. “But I’m not really concerned about it. I’ll be back in no time, so I’m not really upset or concerned. It’s just unfortunate. But good thing it happened earlier this year, so you can get on top of that and be back as soon as I can.”

All that said, Brian Lewis contacted an experienced sports medicine specialist Dr. Kenton Fibel from Cedars-Sinai Orthopedics in Los Angeles to get a better sense of things … within the constraints noted above. First things first, Dr. Fibel told The Post reported that based on the three-to-four week timeframe, Thomas is likely dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring injury and a recovery lasting around six weeks. Moreover, he said Thomas’ past history could lead to future complications.

“Certainly people that have had prior hamstring injuries in that specific area will sometimes form more scar tissue than normal muscle tissue, so it can be a more of a weak spot to lead to further recurring injuries,” Dr. Fibel told The Post. “Not all the time. These can heal well, and just depends on the severity of the ones last year.

“Now this one, you would expect a Grade 1 injury on average to maybe be a week or two, vs. more of a Grade 2 injury can be more four to six weeks. So if they’re recommending to reevaluate him in three to four weeks, they probably think it’s more on the side of at least closer to a Grade 2 injury.”

Dr. Fibel also laid out what he would expect Thomas rehab will look like.

“I’m sure he’s working with the team dieticians to look at any dietary things and adequate hydration, looking at his overall warm-up routine,” Dr. Fibel told Lewis. “Again, the weakened muscle, if the injury happens in the exact same area of that tissue, may be a little bit weakened.

“But if it’s in a different area of the hamstring, then that’s where all these things collectively you’re looking at to see if there’s any ways to alter the risk moving forward of these hamstring injuries.” said Dr. Fibel, who is also medical director for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

“Given the fact it’s earlier in the season and his injury history, I think it’s appropriate to take a more conservative approach with him, as [a] star player for the team,” Dr. Fibel added in talking about a full return. “With really any of these athletes that’ve had prior injuries, our goal is to return the player at a high level, but without an increased risk of injury as best as we can. So I think it’s prudent what they’re seeming to be doing with this injury with him.

“Once you feel that it has appropriately healed, then you begin a return-to-play progression. That may be another couple of weeks from that.”

Of course, it will be in Thomas best interest as well as the Nets to get back on the court. Thomas passed on a two-year, $30 million offer — with the second year a team option — last summer in favor of exercising his qualifying offer which will pay him $6 million but permit him to become an unrestricted free agent in July. To get maximum value, he’ll have to prove not only his on-court skills but his health as well.