Why Hawks' De'Andre Hunter isn't returning quite yet from knee injury
11/09/2024 06:41 PM
The Atlanta Hawks have been without De’Andre Hunter for the past two weeks with right knee injury management, but they recently got a big update on his status moving forward, according to the AJC’s Lauren Williams.
“Per league sources, the Hawks plan to change De'Andre Hunter's injury designation from ‘right knee injury management’ to ‘personal family reasons,’ Williams tweeted on X, formerly Twitter.
Over the last few days, Hunter welcomed his baby girl and has been with the mother of his child. He was questionable and then ruled out against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, and then ruled out against the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
“Hunter was trending toward playing this week before the early birth of his daughter,” Williams wrote. “He has been medically cleared but will be out (personal family reasons) for tonight's game against the Bulls. He's expected to return next week.”
This is good news for the Hawks, who have been dealing with a number of injuries to start the season and could use an extra defender on the court. In the two games that Hunter played this season, he played well on both sides of the ball, and he was a big part of winning those games.
Hunter has had knee issues in the past, so it was unsure how serious this current situation is, but it sounds like he’s ready to go and should be back when the Hawks travel to Boston to face the Celtics on Nov. 12. While Hunter has been out, Zaccharie Risacher has stepped up in the starting lineup.
Hawks should be getting healthy soon
The Hawks are still waiting for several key players to return from injury. Vit Krejci is still out after suffering a right adductor strain and will be re-evaluated next week, while Kobe Bufkin and Bogdan Bogdanovic are still waiting to be re-evaluated. Both Bufkin and Bogdanovic were seen at practice over the past few weeks, which should be a good sign of their status and how close they are to possibly returning.
Bogdanovic hasn’t played since the Hawks’ season opener and suffered a right hamstring injury. Head coach Quin Snyder offered an update on his status a few weeks ago.
"Lingering is kind of ambiguous with these types of things," Snyder said. "There's a process that you have to go through. He hasn't played a lot in the preseason, probably half of the games, which is reflective of 80 or 79 games the last regular season and a full summer of training and competition. We're aware of that, and as a result, we want him to be 100% or, if not, close to it, [and] he's not there."
Snyder hadn’t had much to say about Hunter’s availability even when asked, but with him being medically cleared, he should return to the court soon.
Even though the Hawks have been dealing with injuries, they are still in the thick of the Eastern Conference, as most of the teams have also had injuries. Once the Hawks get healthy, they should be able to get back on track and make a run.
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