Blazers' Matisse Thybulle Suffers Major Injury Setback, Season Debut Postponed
Two-time All-Defensive Team shooting guard/small forward Matisse Thybulle has hit a snag while rehabilitating his injured ankle, the Portland Trail Blazers have announced in a new press statement on Saturday, and is set to be reassessed in two weeks.
Thybulle had already been ruled out for Saturday night's matchup against the Miami Heat. Now, it appears he'll be on the injury report for at least a few more games.
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When he's healthy, Thybulle remains a useful contributor for Portland, primarily on the defensive end of the floor.
Thybulle was flipped to the Trail Blazers from the Philadelphia 76ers midway through the 2022-23 season. He was healthy for 65 contests last year (19 starts), his first full season in Portland. That year, he posted averages of 5.4 points on .397/.346/.759 shooting splits, 2.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.4 assists and 0.8 blocks a night.
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Thybulle struggled with right knee inflammation early this season, and had a procedure designed to treat it. He incurred a grade 2 right ankle sprain during his recovery that was revealed on November 26, and was initially projected to return to action between three and six weeks, which would have put his comeback between December 17 and January 6.
Instead, Thybulle is now going to be on the shelf for at least another two weeks. The soonest game after this projected reassessment window would be Portland's matchup against the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder, set for Sunday, January 26.
The 6-foot-5 swingman will thus have missed at least 45 games this year before he can even suit up.
What's really disappointing, at least from a Trail Blazers front office point of view, is that Thybulle will now prove fairly tough to trade — at, least, for positive value — due to these successive injuries.
Inked to a fairly reasonable $11 million deal this year, Thybulle if healthy would have been appetizing to a contending club as a defense-first wing who can guard multiple positions. He has an $11.6 million player option for 2025-26, which given these health woes he is almost certain to take.
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