Orlando Magic guard Markell Fultz is looking to play on hardwood in the next three-to-four weeks after fracturing his left big toe last September, via The Orlando Sentinel’s Khobi Price. Fultz is yet to make his debut this 2022-23 season.
Per Price, Fultz acknowledged that he feels “ready to play,” but his latest scanning revealed that his toe hasn’t reached full recovery.
“I haven’t felt anything for a minute so it’s kind of weird because I didn’t feel anything before my last scan and then it came back it healed some but not to their liking,” Fultz said. “So hopefully this next scan is fully healed and I’m able to get the green light to get a few practices under my belt and go out there and play.”
Fultz also revealed that he’s been doing light on-court work after being cleared to stop using a walking boot last week.
I just don’t do a lot of contact play,” Fultz said, per Price. “I’m doing a little contact in my drills but not full. That’s pretty much it. I can pretty much do everything except I’m not doing 1-on-1 or 4-on-4 or stuff like that yet.
“I still [am] cutting, dribbling, shooting, jumping — I just haven’t done it against another player, full-on bumping and stuff like that.”
Fultz has been swarmed by injury issues throughout his young NBA career. The former top overall pick only managed to play 18 games last 2021-22 campaign after making a recovery in his ACL tear.
Despite eagerness to be back as soon as possible, Fultz is trusting the process so that there will be no harsher injury to inflict on his side.
“Of course, I want to play but I don’t want to go out there, break it and then have to get surgery and sit out longer than now,” Fultz said. “My biggest thing now is being smart about and healing all the way so I can play a full season without any more hiccups. And not have any lingering pain.”
