The Utah Jazz have provided a timely update on the status of All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. By the looks of things, however, it looks like the 24-year-old has already played in his final regular-season game.
According to the official Twitter page of the Jazz, Mitchell isn't expected to return from his ankle injury for at least another week:
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was re-evaluated by the team’s medical staff today for a sprained ankle he sustained vs. Indiana on April 16.
He continues to make progress towards a return and will be re-evaluated in one week.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 7, 2021
To be clear, the report indicates that Mitchell will be re-evaluated in one week. This does not necessarily mean that he will return to action by then. Even if he gets cleared to play, the 6-foot-1 combo guard will have just one more regular-season game to play in. At this point, it sounds like the Jazz will likely shut Mitchell down for the remainder of the regular season, with Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs looking like a likely return date. It is also worth noting that the play-in tournament schedule should provide Mitchell with a few extra days to recover in time for the postseason.
What cannot be ignored, however, will be Mitchell's game fitness once he eventually returns to action. By that time he would have been sidelined for around one month, so he's probably going to be a bit rusty. Mitchell and the Jazz will need to do everything in their power to ensure that their superstar is as ready as he can be, as one off night could lead to disaster for Utah and their playoff aspirations.
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