Fred VanVleet Says He's Day-to-Day with Hip Injury

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet is still battling a nagging hip injury he suffered earlier in the month

Aaron Rose | Apr 22, 2021

Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

It's going to be a little while before Fred VanVleet is fully back to health.

The Toronto Raptors' 27-year-old guard said he is still day-to-day with a lingering hip injury he first sustained on April 2 against the Golden State Warriors.

"Some days I feel good. Some days I don't, we're at that point in [the] season now. So, one of those things I was just keeping an eye on," VanVleet said. "There was a stretch where we just wanted to get under control and let it heal properly. Getting back out there, get back out there for an Orlando game, and try to figure it out. So I'm working on it, I maintain it every day. I don't think it's anything serious, but it's definitely been a nuisance."

VanVleet's initial MRI after the injury wasn't too concerning, but a second MRI found some issues, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said at the time.

"It's just one of those things where you've gotta take it a day at a time. I'm sure if you have everybody in the league a full-body MRI you'd find similar things, a little bit of wear and tear besides the initial injury that I had," VanVleet said last week. "So there were some things that I was concerned about but I don't think it's going to be anything major, long-term. I think it's just something to keep an eye on."

VanVleet missed six straight games with the hip injury before serving his one-game suspension on April 14. He subsequently returned to the Raptors lineup on April 16, but wasn't quite right and was held to just six points in 23 minutes.

After a night off on April 18 to continue recovering, he returned again on Wednesday and looked much better, scoring 17 points while nailing five 3-pointers.

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