The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Tuesday that wing Max Strus underwent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot and is expected to miss roughly three to four months.
The injury occurred during an offseason workout, and the projected recovery window means Strus will be unavailable when the 2025-26 regular season begins in less than two months. A return to basketball activities in three to four months would place his earliest potential comeback around late December.
Strus, 29, averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 25.5 minutes during the 2024-25 campaign, shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc on 5.9 attempts per game. He finished last season as Cleveland’s starting small forward and one of the club’s most dependable perimeter threats.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is expected to elevate DeAndre Hunter into the starting lineup while newly re-signed guard Sam Merrill figures to see a larger role off the bench. Veterans Dean Wade and second-year wing Jaylon Tyson are also candidates for increased minutes during Strus’s absence.
A Jones fracture involves a break in the fifth metatarsal, the bone linking the little toe to the base of the foot—an injury recently experienced by NBA players such as Zach LaVine, Dariq Whitehead and Ryan Rollins.
Source: Hoops Rumors
