Early return? Kings guard Malik Monk says injured right knee feels ‘better than expected’
Sacramento Kings guard and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk sounds optimistic about his recovery from a right knee injury. Kings guard Malik Monk, the team's leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate, is recovering from a right MCL sprain he sustained last week in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. This is Monk's first public appearance since the injury and is currently with the team during a four-game road trip. Despite initial timeline for Monk's recovery, Monk hopes to play again this season despite the initial estimate that he won't return before the playoffs begin April 20, four weeks and one day after his injury. Monk has worn a sleeve on his right knee since his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, but this is his first time having a knee injury. The Kings lost starting shooting guard Kevin Huerter to a season-ending labrum tear in his left shoulder a week ago, and are relying on players Keon Ellis, Davion Mitchell and Trey Lyles to step up their roles.
Published : a month ago by Chris Biderman in Sports
Malik Monk is traveling with the Kings during their four-game road trip while he recovers from the right MCL sprain he suffered last week in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Sacramento shooting guard and leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate spoke publicly for the first time since the injury occurred as his team prepared to face the New York Knicks on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
Monk was asked about the early stages of his rehab and recent comments from Kings broadcaster Mark Jones, who said on ESPN’s telecast of Wednesday’s Boston Celtics-Oklahoma City Thunder game that Monk is pushing to return sooner than the four-to-six week timeline that was initially reported by ESPN.
“I really can’t tell you that, being so early with the injury,” Monk said. “But it’s feeling good. That’s what I can say.”
He later added: “I feel great. Better than expected.”
Monk has worn a sleeve on his right knee since his time with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-22 season. He said Thursday that was due to a bout with tendinitis and that his MCL sprain is his first time having a knee injury.
Monk has made it clear to teammates that he hopes to play again this season despite the initial timeline for his recovery, which suggests he won’t return before the playoffs begin April 20, four weeks and one day after his injury. Going into Thursday’s game, Sacramento was No. 8 in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns.
The play-in tournament is scheduled for April 16-19, which would be just inside four weeks from the date of the injury. Monk is trying to balance pushing himself in rehab and giving his knee the time it needs to recover.
“I’m not the trainer. I just listen to them,” Monk said. “They push it a little bit. It hurt sometimes, and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s just the rehab process, I think.”
Monk said he hasn’t circled a date for a potential return.
“If I do that then I have expectations. I don’t want to go into nothing with expectations,” he said.
Monk’s injury came a week after the Kings lost starting shooting guard Kevin Huerter to a season-ending labrum tear in his left shoulder. The team announced Wednesday that Huerter underwent successful shoulder surgery and is expected to be fully recovered in time for next season.
With Huerter and Monk out, the Kings have relied on Keon Ellis, Davion Mitchell and Trey Lyles to pick up the slack in their place. Mitchell came into Thursday shooting 62.5% on 3s while averaging 10.8 points per game over his previous five contests.
“Davion’s playing great,” Monk said. “I knew it was going to click at some point for him because he was just trying to figure out what spots to find his shots, to make plays on the defensive end, the offensive end. And Trey and Sasha (Vezenkov) coming back just shows how good our training staff is, I guess.”
Lyles recently returned from a nine-game absence from a knee injury and reached double digits in his first two games, scoring 11 and 15 points, respectively, while making 6 of 13 from 3-point range.
“We have to the rely on the system and each other,” Kings coach Mike Brown said before Thursday’s game. “We have to play for each other. We have to do that with great spacing, great pace. You do that with great ball movement. You do it with great pace, even in the halfcourt. ... When you do that, guys will be able to step up and take great shots because you’re going to be open, because that ball moves faster than your feet.”