Tuesday 18 August 2020 06:54, UK
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo has returned to training after recovering from a broken right thumb.
Rondo suffered the injury on the second day of workouts in the NBA bubble, causing disruption to the Western Conference's top seed.
The 34-year-old cleared quarantine and was informed he was ready to rejoin the Lakers, but his availability for games in the first-round Western Conference series with the Portland Trail Blazers remains doubtful.
Following surgery, Rondo was given a recovery timeframe of six to eight weeks or mid-September.
Rondo, in his second season with the Lakers, could be pegged for a larger role with Avery Bradley unavailable. Bradley opted out of the remainder of the season. The Lakers did sign JR Smith on July 1 to take Bradley's place on the roster and also added Dion Waiters.
In 48 games this season, Rondo is averaging 7.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds over 20.5 minutes, with three starts.
He played in only 46 games with the Lakers in 2018-19, missing more than two months combined between November and January, first because of a broken bone in his right hand then because of a torn ligament on his right ring finger. Both injuries required surgery.
In 14 NBA seasons, Rondo is averaging 10.2 points, 8.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds for his career.
The Lakers begin their playoff campaign against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, with game 2 of the series on Thursday night to be shown live on Sky Sports.
