Battle-Scarred Bucks Face Tall Odds For Early Part Of New NBA Season

Milwaukee's Khris Middleton drives the to the basket in the Bucks' 118-115 overtime win over the Miami Heat in game four of their NBA playoff series GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Douglas P. DeFelice

KEY POINTS

Khris Middleton is likely to miss the early part of the 2022-23 NBA season
George Hill plans to bounce back after a forgettable 2021-22 campaign
The Bucks are likely to have a rough time at the beginning of the new season

The Milwaukee Bucks were bothered by the injury bug last season, and it appears this will continue until the early part of the 2022-23 NBA season.

With training camp underway, some players were left to watch on the sidelines.

One of them is a key piece in the rotation of head coach Mike Budenholzer in the form of Khris Middleton.

The three-time All-Star is likely to miss the beginning of the upcoming NBA season after undergoing surgery on his left wrist this summer, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Middleton played through the wrist injury in the latter part of the 2021-22 season before deciding to undergo surgery in the summer.

He was spotted wearing a cast this offseason but already had it removed a couple of weeks ago.

"Sometime around after the All-Star break, I just felt it during one game and it kind of just never went away," Middleton said. "It wasn't too painful, just something that was going to have to be fixed at some point."

For those who followed the Bucks last season, Middleton also had other injuries that he dealt with.

This included a medial collateral ligament in his right knee, something he sustained during Game 2 in the first round of the last NBA playoffs.

Middleton never returned for the Bucks after that, missing the Eastern Conference semifinals where Milwaukee was eliminated by the Boston Celtics in seven games.

Aside from Middleton, Joe Ingles is another one on the mend.

Ingles is not expected to be ready until the start of the season as he continues to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Ingles could return by December at the earliest although the realistic time for the 34-year-old cager to return is by January.

Budenholzer also had replacement surgery for his right ankle a few weeks ago, and there is no certainty on whether he will be on the bench for the Bucks in the preseason.

One player expected to return is George Hill as the 36-year-old is coming off an injury-riddled NBA season and previously mentioned that he seriously contemplated retirement.

"I let my teammates down, being injured. And I thought about [retiring], but as a competitor, I didn't want to go out like that," Hill shared.