The San Antonio Spurs dropped some positive news regarding Victor Wembanyama‘s return from injury. Wembanyama has been absent since November 16 after getting diagnosed with a left calf strain and wasn’t given a clear timeline of recovery.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that Wembanyama, as well as Stephon Castle, is making progress in his recovery from a calf injury. The Spurs’ medical team decided to keep them both out of the start of their road trip, but Johnson has not ruled out the possibility of both players rejoining the team.
“They want to travel, they want to be with the team,” Johnson said, via Sports Illustrated. “I think that’s been something that’s been cool about these guys for the last couple of years. They just want to be around whether they’re able to be on the court or not, and they all want to be on the court as well. And sometimes we’ve got to save them from themselves and do what we think is what’s in the best interest of themselves and for the team.”
Wembanyama was putting up MVP numbers before going down with an injury. The Spurs have survived his absence in the last eight games, with a record of 6-2, led by De’Aaron Fox.
Wembanyama Aiming to Return Against Lakers
Some Los Angeles Lakers fans have a theory that injured players love to return against their team. Well, they might not be wrong since Mitch Johnson also told reporters that Victor Wembanyama has been “in his ear” about coming back against the Lakers in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on December 10, as per Spurs beat reporter Matthey Tynan.
However, Johnson doesn’t want to make promises he can’t keep, so he’s leaving the decision to clear Wembanyama and Stephon Castle to the medical staff. He will play both of them as long as they get the green light to return.
In addition to being part of the NBA Cup, the Lakers matchup could be seen as a revenge game for the Spurs. They lost their first meeting of the season against Luka Doncic and company on November 5. Wembanyama was limited to just 19 points and eight rebounds, while Doncic had a 35-point night.
Spurs Beat Writer Predicts Wemby’s Return
Before Mitch Johnson’s revelation about Victor Wembanyama’s desire to return against the Lakers, Spurs beat writer Jeff McDonald initially predicted Wemby’s return to be around NBA Cup week.
“My semi-informed guess, if I have to bet my house on Wemby playing next week for the NBA Cup, I’d bet against. If I have to bet on Wemby being back by Christmas, I think it’s a cold-stone lock. Best bet is somewhere in the middle of the two tent poles,” McDonald wrote.
While the Spurs didn’t want to give a specific date regarding Wembanyama’s timeline, ESPN’s Shams Charania was a bit vague by saying it could be in multiple weeks. Charania’s ESPN colleague Michael C. Wright had a more concrete timeline of two to three weeks.
Saturday will be the end of the third week since Wemby suffered the injury, so it will be interesting to see if he gets cleared right before the start of the NBA Cup knockout stages.
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