Ben Simmons’s back issues continue to linger, and as a result, he will undergo surgery and be sidelined for 3-4 months.
The Nets announced Wednesday that Simmons, who never made an appearance for Brooklyn or the 76ers this season, will undergo a microdiscectomy procedure to alleviate pain caused by a herniated disc in his back.
Simmons was sidelined for over half the season with Philadelphia after not showing up to training camp and then telling the team he needed to address mental health concerns. After he was dealt to the Nets, he began reconditioning to make his season debut, but back pain slowed that timeline, and one day before he was expected to make his return in game four of the opening round of the postseason, Simmons told the team he woke up with back pain again.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets were frustrated with Simmons’ update before game four, and Simmons told the team he believed a mental block caused by stress that stems back to last year’s postseason struggles could be triggering his pain.
The 25-year-old is expected to be fully recovered before the start of preseason training camp.
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