Former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz has yet to play in the 2022/23 season after fracturing his left big toe just before training camp started in late September. The Magic guard still has some hurdles to clear before returning to action, but he’s pain-free and hopes to return to action in the next three-to-four weeks, reports Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link).
Fultz says he feels “ready to play” right now, but his last scan revealed that his toe wasn’t fully healed, according to Price.
“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 has been doing light on-court work after being cleared to stop using his 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.”
As Price notes, injuries have been a major factor in Fultz’s career, limiting him to just 131 games over five-plus seasons, including 18 in ’21/22 after recovering from a torn ACL. He averaged 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 20.0 minutes last season. His lengthy injury history has given him some perspective on not rushing the recovery process.
“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.”
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