No Timetable on Kawhi Leonard Return, Clippers’ Ty Lue Says

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has missed seven straight games because of injury management, and it’s hard to know when he may play again, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters.

Leonard missed all of last season after undergoing right knee ACL surgery in 2021.

“There’s really not a time frame of when he is going to be back,” Lue said, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “The biggest thing is just the testing that he has to go through with the medical and the slow progression of just getting better every single day. And so we’re just taking it day by day right now, not really a timetable.”

Leonard, 31, has appeared in just two games this season, averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.

“He is progressing well,” Lue said. “We knew coming off an ACL, it wasn’t going to be a straight line. We talked about it before the season. The biggest thing is he’s progressing well. We are going to follow the lead of our medical staff, we got to be smart about the situation, but he is progressing.

“… He is in a good place, he is progressing and he is getting better so that is the most important thing.”

Injuries have once again resulted in some early season inconsistency for a Clippers team with high hopes.

“It’s a work in progress,” forward Paul George said, via Youngmisuk. “… I’m very optimistic this team will find our stride and start playing our best basketball when we need to. We’re just going through those growing pains early.”