Anderson Varejao Injury Update: Cavaliers Big Man Could Make Return Friday Against Knicks

Back on February 16, Cleveland Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao fractured his wrist and was put on the shelf for an expected time table of 4-6 weeks. On Friday morning, Varejao promptly returned to Cavaliers practice and may even be able to play in the team's game against the New York Knicks.

According to Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer, Varejao was seen taking shots in the shoot around with a heavily bandaged right wrist. Boyer also noted that there was a time that Varejao seemed to wince in pain after catching a pass and had to take a short break prior to returning to practice.

When asked about a possible return, Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott said that it was a conversation the he and general manager, Chris Grant would need to have with the team's medical staff prior to game time.

"I would love to shut him down but like we know Andy, he wants to play,'' Scott said via The Plain Dealer. "We'll see what the doctors say.''

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Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao returned to practice on Friday morning, and actually participated in shootaround and put some shots up. The fact that he was actually shooting is a significant mark in his recovery from a broken wrist almost 7 weeks ago. Cavs coach Byron Scott was certainly happy to see Andy back out there:

Via @PDCavsInsider:

#Cavs coach Byron Scott watching Varejao shoot: "Wasn't that a great sight?...I loved it. It's just good to see him out there.''

— Reed, Boyer (@PDcavsinsider) March 30, 2012

There's still no timetable for when, or if, Varejao will return to game action this year with less than a month remaining in the regular season. Earlier in the week, the Brazilian big man indicated that he would like to participate in the 2012 Olympics in London this summer.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao will return to basketball activities in one to two weeks, according to the club. Varejao has not played since February 10th, when he injured his wrist in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. While he will resume basketball activities and return to practice in the first or second week of April, it's still undetermined when he will return to game action, if at all.

Via @WFNYScott:

Return to practice is projected for the first or second week in April, return to play would follow with specific timing based on progress.

— Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) March 23, 2012

It goes without saying that the Varejao injury was a huge blow to the Cavs season, as they were thin up front to begin with. Just this week, Ryan Hollins was bought out by the club and Byron Scott has decided to start Tristan Thompson at center for the remainder of the season.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a bad way when it comes to their roster, with absolutely no depth at the center position and Anderson Varejao going down with an injury. Until Thursday, Varejao has been out indefinitely, but now confirmation has come from the Cavs that he'll miss a significant amount of time, according to the Plain Dealer on Twitter:

Team confirms Anderson Varejao will miss 4 to 6 weeks with fractured wrist.

Taking a glance at the schedule means that could translate to more than 20 games out with the injury. He's been great with the offensive rebounds this season and is a leader on the court, so losing him hurts in more than one way. The team can be happy that they got Kyrie Irving back in the lineup, but they're now faced with the uncertainty of who actually gets more minutes with Varejao out.

At center, the team has Semih Erden, Samardo Samuels and Ryan Hollins to work with, but all are a sizable step down from Varejao. The most intriguing option could be rookie power forward Tristan Thompson. While it's not an ideal fit, he's a young player who has shown a spark, and it might be best to just get him on the court with Varejao out. At the very least, his defensive abilities could use some honing with more minutes.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.

Anderson Varejao has been penciled in to start at center for the Cleveland Cavaliers pretty much since day one. The big guy is one of the better players on a weak, depth starved roster, specifically at center. The Cavs are a team that has been dominated by a rookie though, young star Kyrie Irving. They might need to start depending on yet another rookie in Varejao's absence with a veritable black hole at the center position.

Semih Erden, Ryan Hollins and Samardo Samuels the 'veteran' options at center for Cavs head coach Byron Scott, and none have been particularly effective. Rookie power forward Tristan Thompson is probably the most intriguing option at the moment, and the fourth overall pick in the most recent draft might just get his chance as the days tick by with no Varejao.

Right now it looks like Scott does not want to immediately start sticking Thompson into the lineup right away, understandable considering his lack of experience and young age. If the Cavaliers can't start winning more basketball games quickly though, the young big guy might start to need to add to his 18 minute per game clip that he's had so far in 2012. He may be quite raw offensively but his defensive abilities -- if they continue to grow -- will surely be a welcome change for the Cavs.

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