Ben Simmons is expected to return to the Brooklyn Nets' line-up against Dallas on Monday night after missing four games because of left knee soreness.
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The Australian didn't travel with the Nets to Washington and Charlotte for the first two games of their three-game trip so he could continue getting treatment in hopes of reducing the swelling in his knee.
"I feel great," Simmons said on Monday, following Brooklyn's shootaround. "It took a few days to get some rehab in, get it right. So I'm feeling great. ... I'll be in tonight. I think I've got like 20 minutes."
An MRI performed last week didn't show any structural damage.
Simmons linked the swelling in his knee, which was drained, to his off-season back surgery.
"I think overall, if you have something you're doing on your left side, it typically affects your right side," he said. "I had a lower right back injury, so it's probably a part to it. But as time goes on, I need to stay on my strength in terms of left and right knee. And then obviously continue to do the work I've been doing on my back."
Simmons, 26, said he believes his knee issue has contributed to his sub-par start to the season. He's been limited to six games, and his averages of 6.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists are below his career averages of 15.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists.
The No.1 pick in the 2016 draft returned this season after missing all of last season, first for mental health concerns while with Philadelphia and then because of a herniated disk in his back after getting traded to Brooklyn.
Simmons last played in a loss to Indiana on October 29. The Nets went 3-1 in his absence.
With Reuters
Australian Associated Press
