Sixers' Jared McCain Provides Injury Update

The setback comes just as McCain was getting ready to return to the court for the Sixers, after he suffered from a season-ending meniscus tear in his rookie campaign, when he averaged 15.3 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field.

What caused the tear in McCain's right thumb?

While the cause behind McCain's thumb injury was initially unknown, during a press interview on Wednesday afternoon, the former Duke star revealed that a play he made in practice had caused the tear.

“It was such a freak, stupid little thing. Somebody was going to the basket, and I was tagging him, and I put my hand on him, and I heard it pop, and I went to the sideline," McCain explained. "I tried to hold the basketball, I tried to shoot, and then just like, move this way, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I'm cooked.’"

Given that the injury came just as he was anticipating returning to NBA action, it affected McCain on an emotional level, as he described being in a depressive mindset in the days that followed.

"I went in the training room, and I was crying. I just immediately started crying. It’s just so frustrating when that happens," the 21-year-old stated. "I knew something was wrong immediately, but once, after a few days, I kind of, you know, calmed down, and I got to have a depressive state, but I was good and back to my normal self.”

While he was initially down regarding the matter, he has since been able to see it as a part of his story in the league, seeing it as a way of keeping him grateful for the opportunity that he has earned.

"The universe is throwing haymakers at me, but it’s all part of the process. I just got to continue to trust, it happens for a reason," McCain said. "It sucks because I felt like I was right there. So close to being back, and then just another setback. I’m always going to stay grounded. Stay grounded, stay with gratitude."

What's the progress on the 21-year-old's recovery?

While the Sixers' second-year guard was spotted at practice over the course of the team's preseason, he has yet to make any significant progress, given that the brace he has on his right hand has barred him from doing any work with the ball on the court.

"I’ve just been doing simple stuff. I can’t really do too much with the brace on, but moving at the same timeline as I said, and we’ll see where it goes," McCain stated.

Once McCain is able to practice without the brace, he feels that he'll have a few boxes to check when it comes to on-court work before he is able to play.

“Next step, I’m being reevaluated in like two weeks now, so I'll get this off, and then I have a playing brace, and then just start passing, dribbling, just doing all the steps for that," McCain explained to the press. "And then we'll see from there when they let me play.”