Many Nuggets fans are hoping Nikola Jokic comes back from his knee injury as soon as possible, but head coach David Adelman has shared a concerning update on his recovery. Jokic was diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee on December 30 last year after Spencer Jones accidentally stepped on Jokic’s left foot, causing his knee to twist. A report last week was optimistic on the 30-year-old’s return to the court, but this new update has poured cold water on that prospect.
Coach David Adelman gives update on Jokic’s injury
Adelman revealed that Jokic’s recovery from his knee injury has been mixed, during a pregame event on Tuesday, January 20, before the Nuggets game against the Lakers.
“It’s just been a very up-and-down process,” the coach said, in a clip per DNVR Sports on X (formerly Twitter). “Not to sound vague, but that’s the truth. Good days, bad days.”
He later compared Jokic’s injury to forward Cam Johnson’s knee injury, describing their recovery as being both “up and down.”
In addition, Adelman shared that backup center Jonas Valanciunas has “looked good” in his recovery after sustaining a calf strain on December 31 against the Toronto Raptors. A recent injury report concurs with this assessment, placing the big man from out to questionable for the Nuggets’ upcoming match against the Washington Wizards set for Thursday, January 22. The coach said that when Valanciunas returns to the court, he’ll “most likely” be the starting center, meaning that Jokic would still be out at that time.
That said, Adelman noted that while Valanciunas “feels really good right now,” he can redo his calf injury “very easily” if the Nuggets aren’t careful with his recovery.
On January 14, ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed that Jokic had resumed on-court workouts as part of the rehab for his knee injury. At the time, the NBA insider said he was “right on schedule, if not a little ahead of schedule, making his return to lineup by the end of this month” more plausible. However, this new update has made this optimistic outlook less likely, placing Jokic’s return closer to early February.
By comparison, Cooper Flagg has already returned to lineup after an ankle injury, while Jimmy Butler’s knee injury will take him out for much longer.
