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Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Love out 6-8 weeks with broken hand

Kevin Love

Ray Richardson, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. –

The Timberwolves already were working on ways to survive without injured point guard Ricky Rubio for the first couple of months of the season.

Now the club will have to make due for the next six to eight weeks without all-star forward Kevin Love, who broke two bones in his right hand while working out at his condominium Wednesday, Oct. 17.

News of Love’s injury did not surface until two hours after the Wolves had concluded their morning practice. A team spokesman said Love left before the end of practice to get an X-ray, which revealed fractures in his third and fourth metacarpal bones.

Love will travel to New York on Thursday to be examined by Dr. Andy Weiland, a hand specialist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Weiland performed surgery on Love’s left hand in 2009 when Love broke a bone during a preseason game in Chicago. Love missed six weeks after undergoing surgery for that injury.

Wolves coach Rick Adelman was not informed of the extent of Love’s injury until after Wednesday’s practice. Adelman and Love were unavailable for comment. Adelman will speak to reporters after Thursday’s practice.

Asked about the possibility of adding another player, Wolves owner Glen Taylor said Wednesday night: “I haven’t talked to David (Kahn) or the coach (Adelman). My thoughts are we have two young guys on the team who want to play. Let’s look at them first. But all options are open at this time.”

The injury leaves the franchise without its two most

visible players for an extended period and dampens enthusiasm surrounding the revamped team. There was hope that Rubio — who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a game on March 9 last season — could return by late December or early January and pair with Love, a two-time NBA all-star, to help make the Wolves playoff contenders.

The Wolves have had some experience playing without Love and Rubio. They did not have Love for the final seven games last season after he suffered a concussion April 11 during a game in Denver. They played the final 25 games last season without Rubio.

Rubio underwent surgery on March 21 in Vail, Colo. Though he has been making steady progress with his rehabilitation, he still is prohibited from jumping and making lateral movements.

The loss of the Wolves’ two stars makes the offseason moves made by team president of basketball operations David Kahn more critical. Adelman did not like the way the Wolves responded last season after Rubio went down. They went 5-20 following Rubio’s injury, including 14 lossses in their final 15 games.

There is a consensus in the organization that the team is better prepared to survive this time with the additions of forward Andrei Kirilenko, shooting guard Brandon Roy and backup forwards Chase Budinger, Lou Amundson and Dante Cunningham.

Still, the Wolves face the prospect of going through the first two months of the season without one of the game’s rising stars. TNT analyst Charles Barkley called Love the NBA’s “best power forward” last season.

Love earned a spot on the U.S. men’s Olympic team that won the gold medal in the London Olympics. The gold medal followed a strong performance last season in which Love ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring (26.0) and second in rebounding (13.3) and minutes played (39.0). He led the league with 48 games in which he recorded double figures in points and rebounds.

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