Raptors' Kyle Lowry had procedure to repair tendon injury in thumb, report says

Kyle Lowry had a lingering problem handled Thursday.

The Raptors guard had a procedure to repair a tendon injury in his left thumb, according to ESPN, which cited unidentified league sources. He hopes to recover in time to join USA Basketball for training camp this summer in preparation for the FIBA World Cup.

Toronto Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry had a procedure to repair tendon injury in his left thumb, league source tells ESPN. Lowry hopes to be ready for USA Basketball training camp and FIBA World Cup later in summer.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2019

Lowry suffered the injury during Toronto's second-round playoff series against the 76ers — en route to its 2018-19 NBA title. The five-time All-Star admitted the thumb was affecting his play ahead of the Finals but didn't want to go into too much detail.

“It’s about passing. I’m a big passer,” Lowry said on ESPN's "The Jump" in May. “You know, the flicking of the passing, the kind of — the ball movement, handling the ball. During the game, honestly, I can’t feel my thumb."

Lowry averaged 7.2 assists per game in the championship series and helped the Raptors top the Warriors in six games.

Toronto will need Lowry at full strength entering 2019-20, as star forward Kawhi Leonard left for the Clippers and in July.