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Wednesday’s Miami Heat shootaround ahead of the team’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena offered additional insight on the injury status of Omer Yurtseven, Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo.
There also was breaking news, with center Bam Adebayo ruled out with a bruised left knee. It is the first missed game this season for Adebayo.
Earlier, coach Erik Spoelstra offered updates on the status of Yurtseven, Oladipo and Herro.
Spoelstra said that in the wake of Tuesday’s surgery for an impingement, bone spur and stress reaction in Yurtseven’s left ankle that the second-year center is expected to return at some point this season.
With Herro away from the team at the start of this four-game trip that continues Thursday night against the Washington Wizards, Spoelstra did not rule out a return by Herro before the trip reaches its conclusion Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a trip that also features a Sunday game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As for Oladipo, who is out with what the team is terming tendinosis in his left knee, Spoelstra said that even with the veteran guard traveling, he will not play on this trip.
For the first time this season, Oladipo addressed this absence that has kept him out since the preseason. He said the knee issue is the result of pushing hard in the offseason to return from previous knee and quadriceps issues with his other leg.
“I worked really hard,” he said on the Raptors’ practice court. “So sometimes when you work hard, you can overwork. It’s just how life works. But I’m still optimistic, I’m still positive. This is how life works. I’m doing fine. I’m doing better and I’m looking forward to playing.”
Just not right away, with no timetable offered.
“Just time will tell,” he said. “When I feel right and everybody’s on the same page, then I’ll be ready to play.
“I think it’s more of a making-sure thing, and then taking the proper steps before going out there, instead of just going out there recklessly. As long as we’re all on the same page, we’re trying to make sure that I get out there as safely and as great as possible, that’s what we’re working on.”
Oladipo likely will return well before Yurtseven, who is expected to miss at least three months.
“He really tried to manage and fight through it,” Spoelstra said of Yurtseven, who has been out since the preseason opener. “It’s admirable that he was trying to do that. If he was like me or you and just walking around, you can get away with it. But if you’re trying to play NBA basketball games at the highest level, it’s something that you for sure have to take care of.
“It was successful and the prognosis looks good. I don’t have a definitive timeline. But everything that everybody has told me, after some rest and some rehab and the appropriate time to build it back up, he will be available at some point this season.”
As for Herro, the fourth-year guard elected to remain behind for treatment, with the Raptors game marking his fifth consecutive absence with the injury sustained during the first half of the Nov. 4 road loss to the Indiana Pacers.
“It’s day to day,” Spoelstra said. “He’s doing twice-a-day work there, and we’ll continue to get him feeling better and getting more mobility, and then we’ll see what happens toward the end of this road trip.
“It’s a possibility [he returns during the trip], but it’s day-to-day right now. This is about him getting around-the-clock treatment in our facilities and then we’ll go from there.”
As for Oladipo, as has been the case with his three seasons with the team, Spoelstra urged patience.
“He’s making a lot of progress,” Spoelstra said. “But guys that are injured, a lot of your work is by yourself and behind the scenes. This is a good opportunity for him to spend a week with the group and he’ll be able to get enough of his work in, which I think is just good for his emotions and his stability more than anything.”
Asked about having been so upbeat about his health during the preseason, Oladipo said, “I’m still upbeat.”
Asked about being confident about overcoming his injury history when he signed his two-year, $18 million free-agent contract with the Heat in the offseason, the 30-year-old veteran said Wednesday, “I’m still confident in playing — when it’s right.”
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