Westbrook to miss start of camp after PRP injection in knee

Russell Westbrook is expected to miss the first couple of days of training camp while recovering from a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his right knee, Thunder general manager Sam Presti told reporters at the team's media day, according to ESPN's Royce Young.

Presti said the procedure was "nothing serious."

Westbrook has a history of injuries to his right knee, stemming from a torn meniscus suffered in the 2013 playoffs. The Thunder star missed nearly half of the 2013-14 season, undergoing a second surgery in October 2013 to fix a complication from the first procedure, then, finally, arthroscopic surgery in December 2013.

By drawing Westbrook's blood and isolating the natural healing properties in his platelet-rich plasma in a centrifuge, the blood could be re-injected into his knee in hopes of speeding up the recovery process for whatever is ailing the six-time All-Star.

Several stars have undergone PRP injections in recent years and came back without much complication. Warriors superstar Stephen Curry received a PRP injection during the 2016 playoffs, hoping to accelerate his recovery after tweaking his knee on a wet court surface. Kobe Bryant famously flew to Germany to receive the injection prior to the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons.