Ramona ShelburneESPN Senior Writer3 Minute Reading
After missing nearly four months with a Grade 3 calf strain, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns plans to return for Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, he told ESPN.
Towns will take a final check before the game, but said he expects to play for the first time since Nov. 28.
“I’m excited to get back on the court and help my team because the next nine games are so important,” Towns said.
Minnesota (36-37) is currently in ninth place in the Western Conference standings.
Towns said he doesn’t expect any restrictions once he returns despite the long rehabilitation process he’s been through over the past four months.
“I’m just trying to pick up where I left off,” Towns said. “I was telling my dad right before I got hurt, I felt the most complete as a player in my career. From defensive end, from offensive end, from a mental aspect, leadership aspect… I felt very complete.”
Towns, who suffered the injury in a game against the Washington Wizards, said a Grade 3 calf sprain “was really just a tear.”
“When you have a torn calf, that’s a significant one,” Towns said. “It takes time. And being my size, you don’t want it to be like KD in Golden State.”
Towns initially thought he would be out for a few months, but he suffered “a major setback” six weeks into the rehabilitation process that essentially sent him back to square one.
“The comeback was imminent, and then boom,” Towns said. “Do a little too much. It’s just in essence, retore. And now we’re back at square one again.”
Rehabilitation took longer the second time. Towns wore a boot on his lower leg for months. Occasionally blood would fill the area where the muscle was torn and he would need to drain it.
“It’s not going to get better unless we drain it,” Towns said. “I even have pictures of the syringe they used to get it out.”
The hardest part was not being able to watch the games from the bench.
“Because of the blood and everything, I couldn’t put my leg out like that,” Towns said. “One time we tested. I was in the tunnel so the fans couldn’t see me. But in the 15 minutes I was standing there with the boots on, my feet hurt so much. It hurt so much, I was like, ‘I have to go in the back’ [and] raise my foot Watching the game. So the fans didn’t see me at the game, but I was in the back in the locker room watching it.”
Throughout the season, Towns kept a notebook with his observations on the team. He shares them with teammates and coaches — anything that makes him feel like he’s contributing.
“I don’t feel like I’m out of step,” Towns said. “I actually gained steps because I’ve been able to learn from a different aspect, in a way that I never looked at from just sitting on the sideline.
“I think anytime I step on the court, I can make an impact. But we’re struggling a lot right now with free throws in particular, and I’ve always been a good free throw shooter. I think, shooting-wise, it’s going to be it’s good to add that kind of 3-point component to us.”
Towns also thinks his return will help Anthony Edwards.
“I told Ant from day one, I want to see him excel and reach levels of greatness. And I can help him do that,” Towns said. “”Ant’s young, and I want to make his job as easy as possible, make a lot of money and do the hard stuff, and I can do it.”
He believes he can do the same for Minnesota’s major offseason acquisition, Rudy Gobert.
“So for me, with Rudy, I just want to continue to put him in positions to succeed,” Towns said. “There’s things that are just not who he is, and that’s fine. I want him to be who he is. When he’s around that basket, I don’t think many people in this world can stop him.”
