Rubio malapit nang bumalik sa Wolves

OAKLAND, Calif. – Inaasahan ng Minnesota Timberwolves na makakabalik na si point guard Ricky Rubio mula sa grabeng ankle injury  sa kalagitnaan ng January, ayon sa source ng Yahoo Sports.

Nag-miss si Rubio ng 24 games dahil sa grabeng sprained left ankle na natamo niya noong Nov. 7 sa Orlando. Nakibahagi siya sa three-quarter speed running exercises at shooting drills sa Oracle Arena bago ang laban ng T’wolves kontra sa Golden State nitong Sabado ng gabi.

Kung makikita sa kanyang naka-schedule na MRI na gumagaling na ang kanyang ankle injury, puwede na siyang sumali sa contact drills sa susunod na linggo.

“I am trying to do my best,” sabi ni Rubio. “Sometimes it is a little bit painful. I got to get through that. Some things are mentally [challenging]. I just push myself and try to come back as soon as a I can.”

Sa ngayon, nahihirapan si Rubio sa stopping, starting at pagpapalit ng direksiyon kapag tumatakbo.

Kasalukuyang di nakakaasa ang Minnesota sa kanilang tatlong starters na sina Rubio, guard Kevin Martin (wrist) at center Nikola Pekovic (foot, wrist)  dahil sa injuries. Ginawang starters ng Timberwolves sina  rookies Andrew Wiggins at Zach LaVine.

“It’s painful seeing them struggling some games,” sabi ni Rubio na nag-ave-rage ng 9.4 points, 10 assists at 5.6 rebounds sa limang games ngayong season. “But we’re young. …We didn’t know that three of our best players would go down. It’s hard when 20-year old, 19-year-old kids have to take 40 minutes a game. It’s a process. They have to learn. Being a rookie is hard. Being a rookie playing 40 minutes a game is even harder. It’s tough to adapt to the league.”