The Milwaukee Bucks have been doing extremely well of late even without the services of the injured Khris Middleton. However, the absence of the 6-foot-7 small forward was significantly more pronounced on Wednesday night as the Bucks suffered just their first loss since the All-Star break.
Without Middleton in the mix and with Giannis Antetokounmpo playing through an Achilles injury, Milwaukee suffered a deflating blowout loss at the hands of Stephen Curry and Co., 125-90.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Khris Middleton Finally Speaks Out on Prolonged Injury Absence
Middleton recently sat down with Eric Nehm of The Athletic to discuss the nature of his injury as well as his status moving forward. For starters, the three-time All-Star admitted that the recovery process has taken longer than expected:
“Maybe. I’m trying to figure out a way to phrase it. I mean, it’s been a long rehab process, but we kind of knew what we were heading toward after the injury,” Middleton said.
Prior to Wednesday’s tough loss, the Bucks had amassed a six-game winning streak. Middleton acknowledged that the team’s success meant that there was a bit less pressure on him to get back on the floor. However, the 32-year-old made it abundantly clear that he has a burning desire to return as soon as he possibly can:
“Sometimes, yeah, but I want to get back out there,” he said. “I need to be playing. I’ve been on a minutes restriction for most of the year, so at this point, I just need to be on the court. So, fighting every day that I can. I won’t say that I’m caking it just because they’re on a winning streak or whatever. I’m trying to get back out there and fight with my guys.”
So What’s Next?
This isn’t the first time Middleton has been out for an extended period over the past few years. The silver lining here is that these stretches have taught him to be more even-keeled in terms of approaching his rehab process:
“Nah, I think I’m better equipped now,” Middleton said. “I hate to say it, but it’s part of the game. It’s part of sports. You get injured. And you just have to do your work until you can get back. I’m not going to rush it and put myself in jeopardy of making anything worse or not helping my team out being a cone out there and a liability, so I’m going to work as hard as I can to get back as soon as I can.”
Nehm asked Middleton if there was a sort of final hurdle he’s facing before he’s able to make his highly-anticipated return, to which the Bucks star provided a cryptic response:
“Just trying to get the swelling out. Had a lot of swelling initially when I twisted, or rolled, the ankle. A lot of it has gone out. Just waiting on this last little bit to go, so I can move freely without pain or anything like that.”
While there appears to be a lot of optimism here, the fact of the matter is that Middleton still hasn’t been able to provide a firm timetable of when he’s going to be able to return.
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