Anderson Varejao out for season with torn Achilles

When Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao left yesterday's game with an injury, the team feared that Varejao had torn his Achilles. Today, those fears have been confirmed.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, an MRI has confirmed the Cavs fears and Varejao will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon. The MRI took place on Wednesday morning.

Yahoo Sources: Cleveland center Anderson Varejao tears Achilles, out for the season. http://t.co/KOMizHXBUx

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 24, 2014

Varejao finishes the season having played 26 games, all of which he started for the Cavaliers. For the year, he averaged 9.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 24.5 minutes per game.

Varejao's injury likely means that Tristan Thompson will start at center and either Brendan Haywood or Lou Amundson will see increased playing time. It also means Shawn Marion could see increased time as a small-ball four.

The Cavs also have a $5.2 million dollar trade exception that they could use to acquire a player such as Memphis' Kosta Koufos and Denver's Timofey Mozgov. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Cavs will also apply for a $5 million dollar Disabled Player Exception.

Varejao's injury marks the sixth time in 11 seasons that Varejao has failed to play more than 50 games in a season and the third time he has played less than 30 games. He also signed a three-year, $30 million dollar extension before the season started. The first two years of the extension are guaranteed.