Aaron Gordon leaves Nuggets Thunder game with injury: Everything we know

Just six minutes into the massive Western Conference showdown between the Nuggets and Thunder, forward Aaron Gordon left the game for the Denver locker room with calf soreness. Gordon has missed multiple stretches this season with calf injuries and he has said it’s something he may need to deal with all season.

Soft tissue injuries can be very problematic and we’ve seen it pop up a number of times now. Gordon has missed time recently for an ankle injury, but that appears to be unrelated. This seems more like Gordon tweaked something and immediately headed for the tunnel.

Gordon listed as questionable to return

According to Nuggets PR, Gordon was officially ruled questionable to return with a calf injury, which was reported at 11:35 PM MT on the ABC/ESPN broadcast. Hopefully, this is just a soreness issue and Gordon can stretch it and play, but it’s certainly not a good sign.

We’ve seen how much of a dip this team takes without AG, especially on the defensive end. They’re finally close to healthy with just 19 games left in the regular season to get into a good rhythm. Any long-term injury that causes Gordon to miss time would be a devastating blow.

UPDATE: Westbrook starts 2nd half, Gordon "not expected to return"

Gordon did not come out for the second half and was replaced in the starting lineup by Russell Westbrook. On the ESPN/ABC broadcast, they announced that Gordon is "not expected to return". This is just a brutal break for the Nuggets and changes the dynamic of this game.

At 12:30 PM MT, Tony Jones of the Athletic also reported that Gordon is unlikely to return. He is still officially listed as questionable with calf tightness but hasn't been ruled out.

The best hope is that this is just an issue of soreness and caution and Gordon will be fine. But there are plenty of outcomes that could be much worse. This is a situation to montior very closely.

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