Nerlens Noel suffers head injury vs Timberwolves; Update

Nerlens Noel suffered what appeared to be a severe head injury in the 3rd quarter vs the Minnesota Timberwolves.

On a drive by Wolves forward Andrew Wiggins, Noel contested him at the rim and Wiggins appeared to inadvertently elbow Noel in the head. Making matters worse, the blow appeared to stun Noel, who was unable to brace his fall and his head then came into hard impact with the floor.

Noel was immediately tended to by the Thunder medical staff and taken away on a stretcher, as players watched.

Update

Noel suffered a concussion, but in the immediate aftermath had movement in his extremities. From the Washington Post:

Nerlens Noel of the Oklahoma City Thunder was kept overnight in an Oklahoma hospital after suffering a concussion when he fell to the floor and struck his head hard in a game Tuesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Noel was injured when Andrew Wiggins’s forearm struck him in the face, snapping his head back, as Noel tried to block a dunk in the third quarter of the Thunder’s 119-117 loss. After falling, he lay on the floor, with medical staff placing his neck in a brace as he was taken from the court on a stretcher; he had movement in his extremities. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday morning that Noel had no fractures, only the concussion. There’s no word on how long that might keep him out.