Brett Brown: Ben Simmons is ‘Coming Back in January’

Philadelphia Sixers head coach Brett Brown said Friday that rookie Ben Simmons will be back on the court in January.

Then, perhaps after conferring with team officials, Brown said there’s no set date for the return of the top pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

Simmons broke a bone in his right foot earlier this month.

Per Philly.com:

“It’s not doom and gloom,” Brown said during Friday morning’s shootaround at American Airlines Arena. “Ben is coming back in January. We are still trying to find information on Jerryd [Bayless]. Jahlil [Okafor] is still trying to touch the court in his first preseason game.”

 

“I was just getting excited about how soon he might be able to come back,” Brown said. “There are so much speculation and dates as a coach you sort of want to hear what you want to hear at a time. I did mention a January hopeful return. That is premature. […] That is a coach doing a lot more wishing than receiving instruction. So we will play this out. Everything is on track with his rehabilitation.”

 

Simmons suffered a Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot on Sept. 30, the final day of training camp. The injury occurred when he came down on Shawn Long’s foot during a scrimmage at Stockton University. […] Simmons had surgery on Oct. 4 in New York and returned there this week to get his sutures removed.

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