Khris Middleton, a Milwaukee Bucks player, has missed 16 straight games due to a chronic ankle injury. The three-time All-Star sustained the injury on February 6 after landing awkwardly on Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant’s foot after a three-pointer.
Good news for Bucks fans: Middleton’s run is going to come to an end. This comes after the 32-year-old declared himself available for Sunday’s game against, interestingly, the Suns.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Khris Middleton Will Play on Sunday
Middleton made the news following Saturday’s practice. It’s been a long time coming, but the 6-foot-7 swingman will finally return to action for the Bucks.
“I can play,” Middleton said after Saturday’s practice, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “That’s what it is right now. Everybody’s going through something at this point. I mean, so I’m good enough to play. Ankle sprains, they linger for a little bit of time, but my ankle is good enough to play on right now without causing severe pain or anything like that. So, I’m good.
‘… I mean, (I) just feel good enough to play at this point. I’ve been frustrated sitting out for so long, but when you have an ankle sprain as bad as I did, it just takes time. Sometimes, it takes a little bit longer than others, but I’m happy to be back.”
Middleton has increased his activity recently, but his position has been aggravating because the Bucks have not provided a specific goal date for his comeback. Nonetheless, all of that has gone out the window now that he’s about to rejoin his friends on the basketball court.
“With injuries a lot and coming back, you’re able to control a lot of your movements and rehab, but once you get into games, especially on the defensive side, it becomes more of a reactive thing,” Middleton said. “And I wasn’t able to react in the way I wanted to off the movement — guarding pick-and-rolls, guarding guys off the dribble — without the comfort I needed to go out there and play. So that was the last little bit of hurdle that I was trying to cross.”
Middleton also discussed his lengthy recuperation process and why he had to wait so long before returning to action.
We anticipate that the Bucks will proceed with caution while reintroducing Middleton into the lineup. He should be limited in minutes during his first few games back as the veteran works to regain full pace.
