Kyrie Irving will return from injury when the Brooklyn Nets take on the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, the team today announced.
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Irving has been sidelined since Nov. 17 with a right shoulder impingement. He revealed earlier this week that he received a cortisone shot on Dec. 25 in the hopes of postponing or eliminating the need for surgery.
It's still unknown if Irving will eventually need surgery.
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"I tried to go without any anti-inflammatories, which is why it took so long," Irving said. "And now I'm at a place where the next step was to either get a cortisone shot or get surgery. So that was the ultimatum I was fixed with. So now I'm just doing to best I can to live off this cortisone and move forward if I need surgery in the future."
Prior to the injury, Irving was averaging career-highs of 28.5 points, 7.2 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. He set several records with his hot start to the season, including the most points scored by a player in their debut with a new team (50).
The Nets are 13-13 without Irving. They've hit a rough patch lately, losing eight of their last 10 games.
Despite their recent stretch, the Nets are still in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, with four games separating them from the Charlotte Hornets in ninth place.