What Is Anthony Edwards’ Injury Timeline? It Depends on Who You Ask

If the Minnesota Timberwolves can finish off the Denver Nuggets, there appears to be a glimmer of hope that Anthony Edwards could return from his knee injury at some point in the second round of the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs or Portland Trail Blazers.

While the initial report on Sunday from ESPN's Shams Charania was that Edwards is expected to miss multiple weeks with a bone bruise in his left knee, stemming from a hyperextension of his knee in Minnesota's win over Denver in Game 4 on Saturday night, there are others offering insights about his chances to play again this season.

"He is expected to miss a few weeks, but a league source told The Athletic that an MRI revealed no structural damage to the knee, a huge relief for Edwards and the Wolves," said Jon Krawczynski.

Krawczynski added on X: "Historically, he's been a fast healer. He desperately wants to play. But everyone has to be smart with this. He's the face of the franchise."

ESPN's Anthony Slater, in a follow-up story to Charania's original report, said, "If the Timberwolves advance past the Nuggets, it's anticipated that Edwards would miss at least a portion of the second round."

Charania also went on SportsCenter and said Edwards is expected to miss "at least two weeks."

Meanwhile, the least optimistic information comes from longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, who wrote this in his Substack blog on Sunday night: "Minnesota just lost both Anthony Edwards (knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) to presumed season-ending injuries in its Game 4 win at home Saturday night."

Krawczynski is the most plugged-in Timberwolves insider, so his report of "a few weeks" is the most credible, and that's what Minnesota fans should be focused on. What does that mean for Ant-Man's chances to return in the second round?

In the second round of last year's playoffs, the Wolves beat the Warriors in five games. They played every other day, with the series lasting from May 6 to May 14. In the 2024 conference semifinals against the Nuggets, the series went seven games, and the series lasted from May 6 to May 19.

If the Wolves take care of business and finish off the Nuggets, they'll likely face the Spurs in the second round. San Antonio leads Portland 3-1 in its best-of-seven series, with a chance to close out the series Tuesday night at home in Game 5.

A second-round series between Minnesota and San Antonio (or whoever advances) will likely start between May 2 and May 4. Clearly, the later the series starts, the better it is for the Timberwolves if they have any chance of getting Edwards back on the floor.

Either way, the second round will likely begin just over one week post-injury. That means Minnesota has to survive at least two more weeks, assuming Edwards misses a few weeks, to have any chance of getting their superstar back.

If Game 1 of the conference semifinals begins on May 3, it would be logical to expect games to be played every other day, with one or maybe two two-day breaks between games. So, something like this...

Game 1 — Sunday, May 3 (9 days post-injury)
Game 2 — May 5 (11 days post-injury)
Game 3 — Friday, May 8 (14 days post-injury)
Game 4 — Sunday, May 10 (16 days post-injury)
Game 5 — Wednesday, May 13 (19 days post-injury)
Game 6 — Friday, May 15 (21 days post-injury)
Game 7 — Sunday, May 17 (23 days post-injury)

Under that scenario, and assuming Edwards needs no less than three weeks to recover, he shouldn't be expected back unless the Wolves can push the series to a sixth or seventh game.

None of this matters if Minnesota doesn't win another game to dump Denver. After outscoring the Nuggets 62-42 in the second half without Edwards and DiVincenzo in Game 4, Wolves fans should feel pretty good about their chances of eliminating Denver.

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