Possible Victor Wembanyama injury timeline gives Spurs best and worst-case scenarios

NOTE: This piece was updated after Victor Wembanyama was officially diagnosed with a concussion.

A Victor Wembanyama injury is a nightmare scenario for Spurs fans and NBA fans in general. The superstar left Game 2 on Tuesday after an ugly fall in which his head slammed into the court, and immediately entered concussion protocol, ruling him out for the rest of the game. After the game, head coach Mitch Johnson confirmed that the superstar was officially diagnosed with a concussion.

With Wembanyama officially concussed, it's still not a sure thing how long he will be sidelined. Obviously the ideal situation would have been no concussion at all; still, there's a chance he doesn't miss any more time than he already has, due to NBA rules. According to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News reported that, if a player is diagnosed with a concussion, they have to wait 48 hours (and until the player completes protocol) before they can return to action.

And according to Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports, average concussion recovery time is 7-10 days. The low end of that would keep Wemby out until Game 5, the high end would keep him out until Game 7, which is 11 days from today.

So while the average injury timeline is between 7-10 days, it could be as little as 48 hours if Wembanyama passes the necessary process and is deemed fit to play. It's also important to note that his recovery could be longer than 10 days — that's just the typical recovery timeline for concussions, but injuries are a case-by-case basis.

Victor Wembanyama officially diagnosed with concussion

With Wembanyama's concussion being diagnosed tonight, Tuesday, Wembanyama could theoretically return for Game 3 on Friday, as that is about 72 hours away from tipping off as of publishing this piece. That would be a remarkably fast recovery and fans might not want to hold their breath, but it is possible.

This might be a matter of the Spurs and Wembanyama deciding whether it's worth it to bring him back quicker than most other players return from concussions. Risking anything is not worthwhile, especially with head injuries.

It's easy to want to rush Wemby back because he is the team's superstar. But if he's not 100% ready and healed, the Spurs would be irresponsible to return him to play, especially with the type of injury he sustained. Everyone wants to see Wemby back on the court, and he definitely wants to be back the most out of anyone.

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