‘We call him Wolverine’: Video suggests Anthony Edwards could return during Spurs series

Anthony Edwards provided more insight into his recovery from a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee in his most recent video released on his YouTube channel on Sunday.

In the video, David Hines – the Timberwolves vice president of medical operations and performance – notes Edwards’ timetable is “one to two weeks.” Whether that’s from the point of Edwards’ injury, likely a slightly more recent date, isn’t clear, but it does increase the likelihood of an Edwards’ return at some point in Minnesota’s second-round series with San Antonio. The guard has been witnessed shooting in the gym after each of the team’s practices over the weekend.

The Wolves’ series opens Monday in Texas. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch noted Saturday that Edwards remains “week to week” and the team won’t have the star guard “out of the gate.”

But Minnesota returns home for Game 3 on Friday, with Game 4 taking place two days after that.

“It’s a collective decision from the athlete, medical performance and coaching. How does Ant look, and obviously how is he feeling within these next couple of weeks?” Hines said. “I think he can return sooner if he can hit all of his metrics for pain management, his mobility, his functional strength, how he looks on the court. But everything is in place for him to follow an order.

“And if he’s feeling better sooner, and he can turn the corner sooner, then obviously you’ll see Ant return on the court sooner.”

Hines said Edwards is “pretty elite” with his recovery and healing. His absences have generally been shorter than the prescribed recovery timelines for the few injuries he’s battled in his career.

“We call him Wolverine,” Hines said.

Hines said the Wolves use data from the medical side of the organization as well as the performance and strength department when tracking progress and identifying a return date.

“Seeing if he can hit all his high-end speeds and strength metrics for isometric testing and his ability to jump and perform on the court before he returns,” Hines said. “Those are the things we look at, and if he’s not capable of doing those things, we can make sure that we’re managing him and that he’s not progressing too fast before he returns on the court.”

Prior to the Game 4 injury against Denver, Edwards was playing through runners knee in his right knee, which he confirmed in his YouTube video was impacting his play.

“I’m getting by. It’s (messed) up, but fight through it,” he said after Minnesota’s Game 2 victory. “It’s kind of hard to gauge my shot, because I can’t really bend and jump on my shot, but it’s all good, man. Fight through it, it’s the playoffs. I’ll go out there on one leg if I’ve got to.”

That, in fact, may be required to give it a go in this San Antonio series.

The mere potential for Edwards’ return is a source of optimism for his teammates preparing to lace ‘em up as a major underdog on Monday.