Will Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen Return Soon?

The Cavaliers are set to re-evaluate the bone bruise in Jarrett Allen's left ankle on Saturday.

On October 7th, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that center Jarrett Allen had a bone bruise in his left ankle. The team said that he would be “re-evaluated in two weeks.”

That two-week mark is tomorrow, so Cavaliers fans are eager to know if their starting center might be ready to go for their 2023-24 season-opener on Wednesday night.

While Allen has yet to play this preseason, and will very likely not play in Friday's preseason finale, Cleveland saw the big man progress in his recovery yesterday.

According to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor:

“Even though Allen has been limited to mostly off-court training — anti-gravity treadmill, pool and weights — he took a critical step forward in his recovery on Thursday afternoon, going through post-practice shooting drills with fellow bigs Tristan Thompson and Damian Jones ahead of the team’s flight to Indianapolis.”

Fedor also wrote that Allen participated in “an extensive individual workout” well after the team’s practice.

While Allen has been sidelined, the newly-acquired Jones and Thompson have stepped up for Cleveland.

Feb 15, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) dunks the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center / © Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Allen has had a handful of injuries since being traded to the Cavaliers in January of 2021. Despite these setbacks, the 2022 All-Star played 68 regular-season games last season, his most since the 2019-20 campaign.

In three seasons with Cleveland, Allen has been an integral part of the team’s rotation. In 175 regular-season games, the near seven-footer has averaged 14.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per contest, while shooting 64.6% from the field and 71.0% from the free throw line.

Given his considerable contributions to the Cavaliers so far, the team is seeking a promising evaluation for Allen’s ankle tomorrow.