(Toronto) Pascal Siakam could finally play his first game of the season next week.
The Toronto Raptors star forward is recovering from shoulder surgery he suffered in the offseason, but coach Nick Nurse has said Siakam’s return is imminent.
“He’s getting closer every day,” Nurse said Friday before the Raptors game against Cleveland.
“Everything went pretty well,” he said, adding “that Siakam is where he is supposed to be, or maybe even a little early” in his recovery.
“I imagine maybe next week we’ll see him on the pitch… He’s been training with contact for over a week now. It was all fairly short. The workouts are not long. He trained with the 905 (the Raptors’ school club) as well. ”
The Raptors are not playing Monday and Tuesday and Nurse said there would likely be “long training” at that point which will help assess Siakam’s condition.
The Raptors are in Boston on Wednesday and Philadelphia on Thursday before hosting Detroit on November 13.
Siakam averaged 21.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season for Toronto.
The six-foot-eight winger took part in shooting practice during the warm-up for Friday’s game.