U.S. Sports Desk, Mar 21 (EFE).– Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant, the reigning league MVP, is struggling to recover from a foot injury and could miss the remainder of the 2014-2015 NBA season.

The Thunder’s general manager, Sam Presti, on Friday confirmed the lack of progress in Durant’s recovery after a Feb. 23 operation and said the team’s franchise player will not return to competition until he is completely healthy.

In that procedure, surgeons removed a screw that had been inserted in October during an operation to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot.

The star forward has been “removed from basketball activities,” Presti told reporters. “He’s not making the progress we’d hoped or expected.”

Asked if Durant would be kept out of action for the remainder of the season, Presti said “essentially that’s the direction we’re headed right now.”

Durant, who was named NBA MVP for the first time last season, has only played in 27 of the Thunder’s 69 contests in 2014-2015 and averaged 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

All of those number are down from 2013-2014, when he posted per-game averages of 32 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

Due in large part to the limited availability of their best player, the Thunder currently have a 39-30 record and are in eighth place in the Western Conference standings.

The team was considered one of the main title contenders at the start of this season.

Led by the outstanding play of point guard and MVP candidate Russell Westbrook, however, Oklahoma City still has a strong chance of making the playoffs for the sixth straight season. EFE