New York Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson has been dealing with injuries through the first half of this season, which has forced him to miss the last 13 games. There is a bit of good news on this front, however. After fully participating in Wednesday's practice session, the former McDonald's All-American has been cleared to play in Thursday's game against the Washington Wizards:
Robinson practiced in full, testing his strained groin, which he suffered in Los Angeles while finalizing his recovery from a sprained ankle.
For the record, the Knicks have posted a 1-12 record with Robinson on the sidelines.
In his 28 appearances with the Knicks this season (12 starts), Robinson has racked up averages of 4.7 points on 64.0 percent shooting from the field, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 17.2 minutes per outing.
Though he has been sidelined for quite a while, Robinson seemed to be in good spirits ahead of Thursday's matchup:
“I feel like I’m getting close if not there all the way,” Robinson told Newsday after Wednesday's practice.
If Robinson takes the floor with his teammates, he'll likely be placed on a minutes restriction. Knicks head coach David Fizdale has already stated that he won't play Robinson in long stretches:
“Obviously I won’t play him in long stretches,” Fizdale said of Robinson. “Probably stretches of four, five minutes. I expect rust but we got to get it off of him. He’s missed a big chunk of the season — a very important chunk for his development. The faster we can get it off of him and get him playing, the better.”
Thursday's game is a bit different than most, as it's being played inside London's O2 Arena. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. ET.