The Grizzlies had hoped that, entering the 2025/26 season following an off-season surgery, Zach Edey‘s ankle issues would be behind him, Damichael Cole writes for the Memphis Commercial Appeal (subscriber link).
Instead, Edey played just 11 games before being sidelined with a stress reaction that led to him undergoing another surgery on March 3. In that time, he averaged 13.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in just 25.8 minutes per game.
In order to get a clearer picture of the outlook for the second-year big man moving forward, Cole spoke to two doctors, Kenneth Jung and Nicholas Strasser, neither of whom played a part in Edey’s surgeries, and who instead spoke based on the publicly released information from the Grizzlies.
Both doctors noted that the most recent surgery was addressing a different ligament than the first one, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t cause for concern.
“When there are multiple setbacks like this, you start to worry about whether it represents a more progressive injury,” Strasser said.
The doctors said that the issues come when the bone in the ankle becomes inflamed due to repeated stress.
“He had injuries that altered the anatomy of the ankle,” Jung told. “By restoring that anatomy and stabilizing the ligaments, the goal is to get him back to his pre-injury status. It’s different from something like an ACL that tears again. This is another ligament being stabilized to restore the ankle’s structure.”
When it comes to timelines, both emphasized the need for patience. Strasser notes that the best-case scenario would be three months, but six months is more realistic, given that the talus bone can be a slow healer.
“Even when you repair ligaments — like he had on the other side — the tissue needs time to heal,” Jung said. “The bone stress also needs time to heal, and then he has to rebuild his strength.”
The Grizzlies expect Edey to make a complete recovery for the 2026-27 season, Cole notes (via Twitter), but the idea of playing in summer league or the FIBA World Cup is less likely. He says that Edey being back on the court in six months would be a big win for Memphis.