Karl-Anthony Towns Injury Update: 4xNBA All-Star to sit out indefinitely for Minnesota Timberwolves after torn meniscus

On Thursday morning, devastating news regarding Karl-Anthony Towns surfaced. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the All-Star center has suffered a meniscus injury in his left knee. At this time, there is no telling how long he'll have to be out.

This is a tough blow for the Minnesota Timberwolves as they look to finish in the top spot in the Western Conference. Towns has led the charge for them offensively alongside Anthony Edwards. In 60 games, he averaged 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc.

Based on the reporting, it seems the team is still holding out hope that Karl-Anthony Towns can play again this season. He is now in a similar situation as Joel Embiid, who suffered a meniscus injury earlier this year.

After missing a majority of last season due to injury, Towns look to be back to full health. This news could not come at a more devastating time for him and the Timberwolves organization. They have about six weeks to put any sort of plan in motion before the postseason gets underway.

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Can the Minnesota Timberwolves still be a contender without Karl-Anthony Towns?

Following this injury update, the first question asked has to do with their status as a contender. If Karl-Anthony Towns is forced to miss extended time, it might derail their playoff aspirations.

After being at the top of the Western Conference for months, many were starting to take the Minnesota Timberwolves serisously as a contender. However, that will likely change if Towns get sidelined. While they'll still have the NBA's top defense, they won't have the firepower to compete with the teams around them.

Defense is only going to get a team so far. At the end of the day, they still need players who can put the ball in the basketball. With Towns out of the picture, Minnesota loses one of their top offensive threats. They still have Anthony Edwards, but a lot of responsibility will be put on his plate. On top of that, teams are going to be able to zero in on him more if Towns is out of action.

This is a tough blow for the Wolves, who have performed well all year. Losing Towns to a knee injury would take away any credit they've built of being a legitimate contender. Without the All-Star big man in the lineup, it's tough to put them over teams like the Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers and OKC Thunder.