Dirk Nowitzki might return in two to three weeks after having surgery on injured knee – NBA News
The Dallas Mavericks continue to face obstacles and hiccups leading to the start of the NBA season. After a mediocre preseason which was filled with disappointment, the Mavericks received another blow when Dirk Nowitzki was ruled out of preseason games due to soreness and swelling on his knee. It was the same knee that had bothered him during the beginning of the last season, and the team wanted him to rest in order to diagnose the problem. He finally had the knee scoped on Friday, and original reports were that he would miss six weeks of action.
However, the Mavericks organization are hopeful that Nowitzki could return as early as two weeks from now, provided he responds well to the surgery. Tim MacMahon at ESPNDallas.com has reported that due to the routine nature of Nowitzki’s knee problems, the Mavericks are hoping that he will recover within two weeks and will be ready to go sometime in November.
“Sources said the Mavs’ medical staff was encouraged by the routine nature of Nowitzki’s knee scope. The hope is that the 34-year-old will respond well to rehab and could possibly miss only two weeks of the regular season,” reported MacMahon.
The loss of Nowitzki is a big blow to the Mavericks and to their goal of finishing with a top eight seed in a tightly contested Western Conference next season. However, they are now hoping that Nowitzki misses the least amount of games possible and returns to the team as soon as he is risk free, so that he can once again take charge of the team. In his absence, the Mavericks will be without their main offensive option and leading scorer, and will look to new signings like O.J. Mayo and Elton Brand to contribute on the offensive end. It will be a huge task to hold the fort down while Nowitzki is away and keep the Mavericks in line for a playoff spot, but someone in the team will have to step up to the challenge.
Players have previously returned from surgeries like the one Nowitzki underwent in three weeks, but they were much younger than Nowitzki when they had that procedure. It all now depends on how fast Nowitzki can return to full conditioning.
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