New York Knicks rookie Quentin Grimes could soon be cleared for full-contact practices after suffering a dislocated kneecap on Feb. 25 versus the Miami Heat.
Grimes, who missed his sixth straight game on Wednesday, was ruled out for two weeks following the injury. The two-week timetable from the announcement by the team will be on Monday, meaning Grimes could return to practice early next week.
The 25th pick traveled with the Knicks on their current seven-game road trip and has participated in various on-court drills. He has not experienced any setbacks and is progressing toward a full recovery.
“He is moving around, getting closer and coming along nicely,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said, via the New York Post. “He is a phenomenal worker and you gotta give him a lot of credit. He is a fierce competitor. (Contact) will be the next step but (he is) doing everything else. So far there are no issues.”
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The typical recovery time for his knee injury is 4-6 weeks. The replay of the incident appeared to be rather serious but Grimes experienced only slight ligament bruising. He did not need surgery to address it and is on pace to suit up again soon.
The injury, Grimes said on Wednesday, was the first of its kind.
It was my first injury that I’ve been sidelined for more than a week. So it was crazy when it happened but it wasn’t as bad as everybody thought it was. I think I was playing a little too hard and I just like dislocated a little bit and it went right back in and I rolled over.
Grimes is averaging 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and one assist in 40 games on 39.8% shooting from 3-point range. He played sparingly to begin the season but saw a larger role recently, averaging 13.3 points, four rebounds and 1.3 assists in four games prior to the injury.
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