Warriors’ Klay Thompson diagnosed with concussion

Klay Thompson officially has a concussion and the Warriors guard won’t return to the court until he is symptom-free, the team said Friday.|

Klay Thompson officially has a concussion and the Warriors guard won’t return to the court until he is symptom-free, the team said Friday.

Thompson, who took an accidental knee to the right side of his head from Trevor Ariza in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, underwent “extensive examinations the last two days - including neurological tests (Friday) morning,” a Warriors statement read.

The team offered no timetable for his return and said he would be evaluated daily. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Thompson was at the Warriors’ facility Friday. The Warriors open the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday in Oakland.

“We’ll just follow the doctor’s advice,” Kerr said. “He’ll practice when he can practice.”

Thompson initially passed concussion testing during Wednesday’s game and was slated to return, with the team calling his injury an ear laceration. Thompson returned to the bench area, but headed back to the locker room after his ear started bleeding.

After the game is when the concussion symptoms appeared and Thompson had to be driven home that night by his father, Mychal. He felt woozy and vomited and the elder Thompson told this newspaper Thursday that “He’s doing great and looking forward to getting back to work as soon as possible.”

Asked if the delayed symptoms makes him question the decision to return a player to the court after a head injury scare - as the Warriors did with Stephen Curry on Monday - Kerr said that’s not part of his duties.

“It’s just not my department,” Kerr said. “I just do what the doctors say we should do. Obviously, we want to be as careful as possible and make sure that players are safe and sound and healthy. We’ll follow this protocol that the league provides and we’ll have Klay out here when he’s ready.”

The NBA’s concussion protocol requires a series of steps the player must pass without experiencing symptoms. It begins with riding a stationary bike and progresses to jogging, agility work and non-contact team drills. If a player experiences symptoms at any point, they must start back at the beginning.

The NBA’s policy also requires the team physician to discuss the player’s return-to-participation process with the director of the NBA’s concussion program, Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, before the player can be cleared for full participation.

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