Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault on Monday said rookie Chet Holmgren is on schedule with his rehabilitation from foot surgery.
Holmgren underwent a successful procedure on Aug. 30 to address a Lisfranc injury in his right foot suffered during the CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle, Washington. He will miss the season as he rehabs from the rare basketball injury.
The second pick has been seen doing some light on-court work with the team in practice. He recently shed the walking boot on his foot in drills and has progressed to light shooting and other related activities with the team on the road.
Daigneault said his recovery is going as planned.
His recovery is not behind or further ahead of what is normal. It is going very well. You’re going to see him do more and more as time goes on and he is doing a great job with it. Those rehabs are dark when they’re that long. He has taken a great approach to it. He is attacking it and seeing the bigger picture.
It is hard to do because we’re lining up (to play) at (Madison Square Garden in New York). We’re lining up at the (TD) Garden (in Boston) and he is watching from the sidelines. He should be really proud of the way that he is taking this so far. It bodes well for us as we move forward with him.
Holmgren is the latest high-profile player to miss his rookie season due to injury. Joel Embiid, Blake Griffin and Ben Simmons all missed their first seasons in the league due to different injuries and were forced to sit and watch.
The injury is the first significant setback for Holmgren during his basketball career. He said in September that he reached out to Embiid for advice on how to handle sitting out his first year. To see those players all eventually achieve success has helped Holmgren.
Holmgren spends at least six hours a day at the team facility going through various treatments and other related medical activities. The team has been impressed with his attitude and drive during the process and firmly believes he will return to full health.
The recovery from such a major injury will be a long and grueling process for Holmgren, but it is clear the 20-year-old has a strong support system around him to help him throughout the process.
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