There is still no timetable for Mike Dunleavy to return from a right ankle injury, but the Hawks’ guard-forward hopes it will be soon.
Dunleavy was diagnosed with right ankle synovitis in February and the team announced he would be out indefinitely. He missed his eighth consecutive game Friday after the injury became an issue in Boston on Feb. 27.
Synovitis is fluid and inflammation in the area of a joint. Dunleavy said he sprained his right ankle while playing with the Cavaliers before the Hawks acquired him in a trade for Kyle Korver. He missed the four games before the transaction was completed.
“I never fully recovered from it,” Dunleavy said Friday. “I came back from all-star (break) and a game and I commented to someone that it was like a mini training camp. That weekend after we got to Boston it started to bother me. I did some conditioning work and it blew up.”
Dunleavy said he has been doing some conditioning work, but court impact is still bothersome. Travel, which can cause joints to swell, does not seem to be a problem, and Dunleavy plans to travel with the team on the coming road trip to Memphis and San Antonio.
An MRI taken at the Emory Orthopaedics and Spine Center on Feb. 28 revealed the injury and a second opinion by Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute also confirmed the diagnosis. Dunleavy said it was a mutual decision with the Hawks to get a second opinion.
“Hopefully soon,” Dunleavy said of his possible return. “These kinds of things have a mind of their own. I’m optimistic that it’s going to be soon. Obviously, it being a recurring thing from the injury earlier in the year we’ve got to make sure it’s right.
“Luckily, it’s not the last week in the season, but it’s near the end. I want to get this thing right as soon as I can and get myself back and be available.”
Dunleavy was averaging 5.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 16.2 minutes in his 19 games with the Hawks before the injury.
“I would say he is training and rehabbing,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “How long it’s going to take him to get healthy, I don’t think any of us are certain.”
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