Ricky Rubio to Undergo Ankle Surgery

According to a Yahoo Sports report, Ricky Rubio will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his ankle next week.

The source said the surgery is considered to be a "minor cleanup" after the Spaniard had his "good and bad days" after returning to play.

Rubio first hurt the ankle against the Orlando Magic in the fifth game of the season back in November, and missed over half the year before returning to action in early February. He only lasted six weeks before tweaking the ankle again, and hasn't played since March 18th.

While there is no question that requiring surgery is not good news, hopefully this is minor and will allow him to recover quickly and get back on the court. According to the report, it likely will keep him from playing with the Spanish National Team this summer, which might be good news in the long run.

We'll have more when there is more.

EDIT: Here's the text of the Wolves press release

The Minnesota Timberwolves released the following statement on behalf of Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and head coach Flip Saunders regarding Ricky Rubio:

"We have closely monitored the status of Ricky's ankle injury during the rehabilitation process. Ricky recently experienced ongoing soreness in his left ankle and it became apparent that it was not responding according to its anticipated timeline for recovery. As part of this process we sought numerous opinions as to the best course of action. Ricky was most recently seen by Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Los Angeles and it was concluded that the best option would be to pursue diagnostic arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle.

At the time of his initial injury we stated the importance of Ricky's long-term health. He is an integral part of our future and we are taking every precaution to ensure that he will be able to perform to the best of his ability next season. This decision was one that was reached between Ricky, his representatives, the Timberwolves organization and the foremost practitioners in this field of orthopedics.

The surgery will be performed on Monday by Dr. Richard Ferkel of Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Van Nuys, California. A further update on Rubio's estimated recovery period and anticipated return to basketball activities will be provided following the procedure."