Wednesday 22 April 2020 07:29, UK
Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons feels healthy and ready to return to basketball when the league gives the all clear from the coronavirus pandemic.
Before the NBA suspended its season on March 12, Simmons had missed the 76ers' last eight games with a lower-back nerve impingement.
The ongoing league-wide shutdown has had the benefit of providing Simmons with ample recovery time from the injury without missing any additional games, and the 23-year-old now looks like he'll be ready to reclaim his normal role whenever the NBA gives teams the green light to resume training.
Simmons will be available to play if or when the 2019-20 NBA season resumes, a team source told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan.
"He's feeling strong," a member of Simmons' camp relayed to MacMullan. "The original restrictions were very limiting, but all of them have been removed. He would probably need another scan, so the doctors could officially clear him, but there have been no setbacks. He's dying to get out there."
"If the season resumes," a team source told ESPN, "we're expecting to have him."
Simmons is averaging 16.7 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 steals in 54 games this season.
