After being out of action for a good part of a month, Denver Nuggets rising star Michael Porter Jr. appears to be on track to a return in the near future. Denver head coach Michael Malone provided a timely update on the status of the 22-year-old, and it's an undeniably encouraging development for the squad.

Malone confirmed earlier reports that Porter has already returned a negative result, but also acknowledged that conditioning will be an issue:

“Once you clear and you start returning negative tests, that’s a big part of it,” Malone said following Thursday’s practice, via Michael Singer of the Daily Camera. “But then there’s a cardio aspect of it you have to pass and go through, a complete and comprehensive cardio exam. Once all that comes back into play, hopefully he’ll be able to play at some point on this trip.”

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The Nuggets kick off a five-game road trip on Friday with a bout against the Phoenix Suns. They take on the Suns on a rematch the following evening, and face off against the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, and San Antonio Spurs next week. As Malone implied above, Denver expects Porter to return at some point of the upcoming trip, and while there are no guarantees at this point, the fact remains that the former Missouri standout is nearing a return to action.

Porter has had a tremendous start to the 2020-21 campaign, averaging career-best number of 19.5 points (on 56.6 percent shooting), 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks in four games.