yahoo - 4/5/2026 12:26:32 AM - GMT (+2 )
Stephen Curry is set to return to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, with five games left to play in the regular season and plenty to figure out.
The former MVP has missed 27 games with a knee injury sustained in January and is reportedly expected to be cleared for this weekend’s game against the Houston. His timeline has been hazy throughout the process, with the injury initially presented as non-major and late described by the Warriors as patella-femoral pain syndrome and bone bruising in his right knee.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Curry was asked about the recovery process. He painted it as a frustrating few months, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater:
“It was more of a mental thing at first, meaning I didn’t know enough about it. I thought I was going to be out a week. Ten days max, let it calm down. Every time I got on the court or tried to push it in that first month, there was always — I wouldn’t call it a reaction, it just wasn’t healing as fast as you thought.
“The patience then was tough just because it’s one of those injuries you really have to let rest. There’s nothing you can push through or be on the court while it’s healing. It’s just a different experience than most injuries that I’ve had, that had a very defined timeline and a very defined process.”
Curry went on to clarify that there was no structural damage in his knee (e.g. a torn ligament), but he is apparently still learning how his leg works now:
“There is nothing structurally wrong with my knee, so it’s not like I’m compromised out there. It is a new normal, though, if that makes sense.
“It’s just a matter of understanding what I need to do off the court to make sure everything around my knee is strong and firing the right way. I’ll take full advantage of the offseason, whenever it is, to have a full reset. And then you just figure out what it looks like going into next year.”
At 38 years old, any prolonged absence is going to trigger concerns around Curry, who has a history of injuries dating back to the early years of his career. The Warriors are continuing to operate with the assumption that he can control the court like the greatest shooter of all time, hence why they’ll be hoping that offseason is indeed a proper reset.
It wouldn’t have been a surprise for Curry and the Warriors to simply shut it down for the rest of the season rather than send him back out there for five games and whatever happens in the postseason. Key contributors Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody are already out for the season and the team sits in 10th place in the Western Conference.
They are in no danger of falling out of the play-in tournament, but all a pair of wins after the regular season would do is set up a seven-game series with the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.
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