SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green last saw the game on Jan. 9. But he didn’t actually play, having spent the full seven seconds on the court to celebrate Clay Thompson’s epic comeback, and suffered a calf injury that came to light a few days later. back injury itself.
On Thursday evening, Greene said he expected to miss another three to four weeks to recuperate and recuperate based on what specialists and doctors had told him. According to this schedule, he will return after the All-Star break sometime in the first week of March. He knows, given the nature of his injury, that the timing could change.
“I can’t give a specific timeline because at the moment I’m just recovering and building strength and allowing my body to heal,” Greene said ahead of the Warriors’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. “I can’t guarantee that because it’s not one of those things that says, ‘Oh, my ankle feels better, I can come back and play.’
Knowing that the whispers questioning his return to action could grow louder if he missed four weeks, Green made it clear that he expected to return to the Warriors’ playoffs.
“As for my back, I’m not going to rush there,” he said. “If I don’t come back in three weeks, that doesn’t mean I won’t be able to play in three weeks either. I want to come back when I am 100 percent sure that I am healthy. When I feel like I’m in great shape. The reality is that I don’t want to come back in a not-so-good shape.”
Although he had an MRI and visited specialists in Los Angeles and San Francisco for a left disc injury, Greene said he never experienced back pain. He felt pain in his calves Saturday night before the Golden State game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thompson’s return. When Green failed to complete pre-game exercises, Warriors sports medicine director Rick Celebrini determined that the cause of the calf pain was related to his back.
“I talked to Draymond almost every day and to Rick Celebrini and never thought about surgery,” said head coach Steve Kerr, who had complications from back surgery in 2017. the trend is in a good direction, and I hope it will continue to be so.”
Green added: “Initially, no one thought I needed surgery. Today no one thinks that I need an operation. Having said this, you will never leave the forest.”
Green said he has work to do at the facility and on the court. Having brought together the Defensive Player of the Year this season – the Warriors for the title – he is determined to get back in shape without worrying about re-injury. Referring to the Utah Jazz’s DPOY defense of Rudy Gobert, who missed 10 games last season, Green said missing a chunk of the season shouldn’t deprive him of his second DPOY award.
“I just have to come back and dominate,” Green said. “One thing is for sure: no one played better defensively than me this year. If I hadn’t been injured, I would have won by a wide margin.”
