Cavs News: Cleveland Cavaliers Release MRI Results on Tristan Thompson

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced the results of Tristan Thompson‘s MRI exam on Thursday, with the center expected to miss the next month because of an injury to his left calf.

Thompson suffered a non-contact injury to his left calf during the Cavaliers’ Wednesday night home loss to the Indiana Pacers. With 1:41 left before halftime, Thompson clutched his left calf and was helped to the Cleveland bench by teammate J.R. Smith. Shortly after, he was taken by the team’s training staff into the locker room, where the original diagnosis was simply noted as a left calf strain. The center didn’t return to the contest.

The Cavaliers had likely been preparing for the worst, given one account from just after Wednesday night’s loss.

Thompson has been the Cavaliers’ most durable player since he was selected fourth overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. After playing in 60 of the 66 games during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, he played in every game over the next four seasons, putting together a consecutive-games streak of 447 games. That streak came to an end last April when he missed the final four games of the regular season with a sprained right thumb.

The Cavs return to action on Friday night when they travel to face the Washington Wizards, having dropped their last four games and five of their last six. The chief issue during the losing streak has been the team’s poor defense, with Cleveland having allowed just over 118 points per game during this stretch.