The Oklahoma City Thunder could be without Kevin Durant for the rest of the season after the reigning MVP suffered a setback to his twice surgically-repaired right foot.

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Durant has been “removed from basketball activities”, Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti announced yesterday, saying the star forward is “not making the progress we’d hoped or expected”.

When asked if Durant would be done for the season, Presti revealed: “Essentially, that’s the direction we’re headed right now.”

Durant was back at practice from last Saturday and looked on track for the timetable that was set at one to two weeks nine days ago. However, he was held out of practice on Thursday after feeling additional soreness in his foot.

“Experiencing a little bit of soreness,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said to ESPN.com. “That’s expected. We have some peaks and valleys, and we always have a cautious approach, so [Thursday] he didn’t do anything.

“I think when you go through rehab, we all know through the rehab process you’re going to have some peaks and valleys, and you just have to adjust accordingly. That’s why he was off [on Thursday], and he’s definitely not playing [Friday]. That’s all part of the process with his rehab.”

Durant has missed 15 games in his recent stretch out of commission since February 21 and sat out 42 games total so far. He underwent surgery on February 23 to alleviate discomfort caused by a screw inserted in October for a Jones fracture.

Oklahoma City are in the midst of a battle for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference with the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns.