Cats have fingers crossed for Daniels
Perth Wildcats interim coach Paul Woolpert is hopeful star import DeAndre Daniels will recover from elbow surgery in time for the club's NBL season opener next month.
Daniels had surgery to remove bone fragments from his right elbow on Monday and was initially given a recovery time frame of 4-6 weeks.
He will miss the rest of the Wildcats' pre-season campaign, including tomorrow night’s game against the. SBL All Stars at the WA Basketball Centre.
But Woolpert said Daniels, who watched training from the sidelines this morning, could be back in time for the first game against New Zealand at Perth Arena on October 10.
"He's a young guy in good shape and we don't see it being a problem," Woolpert said.
"He's already moving the elbow. We will talk to the physios and doctors and get him on a program where we should be getting him back on the floor maybe in three or four weeks."
Daniels’ program over the next few weeks will involve work on his left arm, core strength and legs.
Despite Daniels not being able to take part in training drills, Woolpert didn’t believe the injury would be too much of a disruption.
"We have him at every practice a and talk to him about what we're doing as a team,” Woolpert said.
“He's watching it and understanding what we're doing. He had a pretty good grasp on what we were doing before he went in for surgery, so I don't think it's going to be much of a setback.
"He's got a very high basketball IQ and he's at every practice. We talk to him about the drills we're running and what we're trying to accomplish, and I think he understands.”
The Wildcats will suit up 11 players tomorrow night against the SBL All Stars, including everyone on the senior roster, except Daniels.
Development prospects Sunday Dech, Louis Timms and Anthony Fisher will also play.
Tip-off is at 7pm, with the game being played in support of charity organisation Youth Focus.
