Suns forward Dillon Brooks will return to action on Tuesday in Orlando, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise, as a report last week indicated that Brooks was expected to return early in Phoenix’s road trip, which began with a win in Memphis on Monday. Still, it’s certainly a welcome development for the Suns.
Brooks has been sidelined since February 21, when he broke his left hand in a game against the Magic. It’s an interesting coincidence that he’ll return for Phoenix’s second and final matchup with Orlando this season.
The 30-year-old wing has appeared in 50 games in his first season as a Sun, averaging a career-high 20.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal on .440/.343/.856 shooting splits. He was expected to miss between four and six weeks following surgery, and will be back in just over five.
Brooks and Mark Williams (left foot stress reaction) went through a 5-on-5 practice on Saturday for the first time since they sustained their respective injuries. They went through another 5-on-5 session on Monday, Rankin reports in a full story.
“We got out of it alright,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said before Monday’s game. “Now you just got to see how it responds the day after. … They’ve both taken steps. They’re just ready to play. We’re ready to have them.”
Last week’s report from John Gambadoro indicated that Williams, who has been out since Mar. 3, was likely to return later in the road trip. The Suns play at Charlotte on Thursday and in Chicago on Sunday.
Grayson Allen (left knee injury management) was also unavailable on Monday, though Ott suggested the team was just being cautious with the veteran shooting guard on the front end of a back-to-back. Haywood Highsmith (right knee injury management) and Amir Coffey (left ankle sprain) remained sidelined as well; it was Highsmith’s sixth consecutive absence and Coffey’s fifth.