Friday 26 April 2019 06:30, UK
Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon has been ruled out of the first two games of the Eastern Conference second-round series with the Boston Celtics as he continues his recovery from a plantar fascia tear in his right foot.
Brogdon has not played since sustaining the injury on March 15.
"We'll reassess him after the first two," said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.
"We're hopeful that [his return] will be this series. He's been kind of on track and meeting [benchmarks], but he's still got some hurdles to cover.
"An important five to six days here. We'll assess it when we kind of get through this next little wave."
The top-seeded Bucks had been hoping Brogdon would return for the first-round series against the Detroit Pistons but that proved to be too optimistic of a timeline.
Milwaukee did not miss him while rolling to a four-game sweep.
Now the Bucks are hopeful he will return sometime next week. Budenholzer said Brogdon has remained around the team throughout the process.
"I think he's been really engaged, which I think is just good for him emotionally, psychologically," said Budenholzer.
"It's good for our team. He's a really smart guy, he offers insight and different things that are unique.
"You always have a different vantage point, and Malcolm's is special. I think he's been really good and really engaged."
Brogdon averaged 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 64 games in his third NBA season. He was the Rookie of the Year two seasons ago.
