Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton. Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Bucks get concerning injury update on Khris Middleton

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Nov 6, 2024 6:57 AM ET

The struggling Bucks (1-6) could use reinforcements to return to winning ways. Khris Middleton, who underwent surgeries on both ankles in the offseason, was supposed to be their savior. However, the three-time All-Star is nowhere close to returning to the basketball court.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Middleton has yet to engage in five-on-five scrimmages and hasn't been cleared for physical contact. Charania noted that entering training camp, the Bucks expected Middleton to be "week-to-week," but that timeline has changed since the forward hit a roadblock in his recovery.

"Team officials have recognized that this is taking much longer than they anticipated. There was an idea that he'd be back a couple of weeks ago, but he still hasn't been cleared," Charania told "SportsCenter" on Tuesday.

Khris Middleton is still out indefinitely, per @ShamsCharania

"He has yet to be cleared for 5 on 5 scrimmaging. Team officials have recognized that this is taking much longer than they anticipated"

(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 )

pic.twitter.com/D7AkanlWPt
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 5, 2024

The 33-year-old Middleton has dealt with a series of lower extremity injuries since he tore his MCL in the 2022 playoffs. Following that injury, he played only 33 games in the 2022-23 season and was a non-factor during the Bucks' upset loss to the Heat in the 2023 playoffs. Last year, he showed flashes of his former All-Star self before suffering an ankle sprain that caused him to miss 27 games.

While he did return in the playoffs, his ankles greatly affected his lateral movement as he appeared hobbled in his team's first-round playoff loss to the Pacers. He opted for surgeries on both ankles in the summer. All in all, Middleton has missed 95 games over the last three seasons, including Milwaukee's first seven games in 2024-25.

Middleton's latest injury setback is devastating for a Bucks team that is off to its worst start in the Giannis Antetokounmpo era and tied for its worst start in franchise history since starting 1-6 in the 1993-94 season.

According to multiple insiders, the Bucks could blow up the roster, which includes trading Antetokounmpo, if they go another year without competing for an NBA title. The franchise has the fourth-highest payroll in the league for the 2024-25 season but finds itself dead last in the Eastern Conference standings as of Wednesday.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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