MINNEAPOLIS — After dropping 47 points against the Cavaliers, it was determined that Anthony Edwards will need surgery to clean up arthroscopic damage to his knee — an injury that has lingered since last postseason.

Edwards serves as both the Timberwolves' best player, as well as a leader — a leader clearly revered by his teammates, including guard Bones Hyland.

“He went out like a warrior,” said Hyland, who met with the media on Wednesday morning. “I feel like a lot of players would have sat out, around the league, like dealing with injuries like that, especially like a lingering injury. … But Ant, he’s just a basketball junkie. He wants to play, you know, all the time. … You see him hold his knee, but he get right back up, so, that’s just a testament to him, how he was raised, how he was built, so you fall down you get back up, no matter what’s hurting so, man we gonna miss Ant for sure, but it’s not gonna be for long. We’re gonna hold the fort down.”

Hyland, whose minutes have been naturally limited to the guard depth throughout the roster, should see an increased role with the absence of the Georgia native, as Ayo Dosumnu should slide into the starting lineup, making Hyland and fellow guard Terrance Shannon Jr. the primary backcourt off the bench.

“We got a deep team. … I mean we got a lot of players who can fill in that role,” said the VCU alumni. “Obviously he takes on a big role, but just fill in… come out there and play winning basketball, play Timberwolves basketball, you know what I’m saying. Just try to keep high spirits, and send our prayers to Ant. I know he’ll be back, he’s a warrior.”

Bones Hyland on stepping up without Anthony Edwards for several months:

“One of our warriors go down, we just step up” pic.twitter.com/sHC422t0J0

— Jack Azoulay-Haron (@AzoulayHaron) October 28, 2026

In addition to a presumptive increase in minutes for the three guards who typically come off the bench, newly acquired LaMelo Ball, who has had several highlight-reel plays in his first few games with Minnesota, will assume the number one offensive option duties — similarly to how he operated with his former team, the Charlotte Hornets.

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Ball averaged 20.8 points per game over six seasons with the Hornets, maintaining a 30.6 percent usage rate, per Basketball Reference. Over his past three seasons, that number ballooned to 33.8 percent — a good ballpark estimate of the kind of Ball dominance the Chino Hills, California native should maintain with Edwards’ absence.

“I think it unlocks LaMelo even more,” said Hyland, a former first-round pick by the Denver Nuggets in 2021. “Ant going down — I think it allows LaMelo just to be more aggressive on offense. Obviously he’s looking for, you know, everyone on the floor, obviously Ant a lot … He looks like when he was over with the Hornets — lot more scoring, a lot more aggressive, so can’t wait to see that as well.”

Minnesota will have their first test this evening against the Golden State Warriors, with tip-off set for 7:00 PM Central Time.