Report: Wolves' Chris Finch to undergo surgery, may coach Game 1 from locker room

Finch is officially expected to undergo surgery to repair his right pattelar tendon.

Apr 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch looks on / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday, that Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch is expected to undergo surgery to repair his ruptured patellar tendon, while his status remains unclear for their western conference semifinals series against the Denver Nuggets.

Finch suffered the freak injury during Sunday's Game 4 win over the Phoenix Suns when Devin Booker pushed Mike Conley Jr. out of bounds late in the fourth quarter, and he had to be helped off the court into the locker room. Assistant coach Micah Nori was then tasked with finishing the game in his place.

The Nuggets finished their series Monday vs. the Lakers in five games, confirming that the Wolves' second-round series will begin on Saturday in Denver. There is no word on if Finch will try to remain on the sidelines in some sort of brace, but a patellar tendon tear is a serious knee injury, so it's expected to be a long recovery.

"[Finch] will be required to keep right leg immobilized in a brace. If [he] isn't able to park on the sidelines to start the series, assistant Micah Nori will coach Game 1 on Saturday, with Finch communicating to the bench from the locker room," Wojnarowski writes.

It is expected that Finch will travel with the team to Denver on Friday no matter if he will be coaching from the sidelines or not.

Related: It's Timberwolves v. Nuggets in Round 2: Schedule and ticket information