Blazers' Damian Lillard Nearing A Return From Injury

Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star guard Damian Lillard is expected to return from a right soleus muscle strain on December 4.

Damian Lillard is and has been the leader of the Portland Trail Blazers for quite some time. They need him in order to be a championship-like contender in the Western Conference, but Lillard’s health has been a concern so far this season.

He missed some games early on due to a right calf injury and most recently, Lillard has missed the Blazers’ last five games, including Tuesday night’s game at home against the Los Angeles Clippers, a game that Portland ended up losing late in the fourth quarter, due to a right soleus muscle strain.

Now 4-6 on the year without Lillard, the Trail Blazers are looking ahead to when their star point guard will be back on the floor and it could wind up being sooner than later.

During Tuesday night’s game, TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes gave an update on Damian Lillard’s status, saying that Lillard is aiming to return on December 4 when the Trail Blazers take on the Indiana Pacers.

"Damian Lillard is targeting a return date of December 4th here in Portland against the Indiana Pacers."@ChrisBHaynes shares the latest timetable on Damian Lillard pic.twitter.com/INj9lQxYbq

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 30, 2022

Chris Haynes: “League sources have informed me that Damian Lillard has targeted a return date of December 4 here in Portland against the Indiana Pacers.”

Should Lillard be able to return on Dec. 4, that means he will miss the team's next two games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, both of which are on the road.

Prior to sustaining this right soleus muscle strain, Lillard had played in 11 games this season for Portland, averaging 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the floor.

On the season, Portland is now 11-10 overall and they will take on the Lakers in their next game on Wednesday night. 

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