An MRI exam revealed that Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee and he will have surgery, the team said Thursday.

Towns will undergo the procedure early next week and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Towns, 28, played only 21 minutes in Minnesota’s 119-114 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

The timing of the injury is brutal for the Timberwolves (44-19), who beat the Indiana Pacers 113-111 on Thursday to take a half-game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Towns is averaging 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 60 games (all starts) this season and is shooting a career-high 42.3 percent from 3-point range.

The 7-footer has averaged 22.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 571 games (all starts) since the Timberwolves drafted him No. 1 overall in 2015.

–Field Level Media