Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio done for season with torn ACL

The worst fears of the Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans have been realized ahead of the start of the new year. 

Cleveland announced earlier in the day that veteran guard Ricky Rubio would undergo an MRI to determine the seriousness of the left knee injury he suffered in Tuesday's 108-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Cavs have since confirmed Rubio has a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season. 

As ESPN's Andrew Lopez noted, Rubio tore the ACL in his left knee back in 2012. 

It's the latest frustrating setback for a Cavaliers side that sits at  20-14 and is one of the positive surprises of the opening half of the campaign. Last month, guard Collin Sexton underwent season-ending surgery to repair a left meniscus tear. 

Rubio had become a key on-the-court contributor and locker-room leader for a young Cavaliers team seemingly ahead of schedule during its latest rebuild. Across 34 games this season, the 31-year-old averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds.

The Cavaliers have repeatedly been mentioned in rumors regarding wantaway Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons, but one wonders if this development would prevent Cleveland from completing such a transaction because of a lack of depth that has only worsened since Tuesday evening.