Magic guard Jodie Meeks is progressing well in his recovery from a mid-July surgery to stabilize the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel relays. Meeks will likely be available to play at some point in November, a team official told Robbins, though his exact return date will depend on how well he continues to progress.
Meeks had fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in the Pistons’ second regular-season game last year. That injury essentially cost him the entire 2015/16 season, with the player undergoing surgery in late October and not suiting up again until Detroit’s final regular season contest. Meeks wasn’t part of the team’s playoff rotation and the Pistons traded him to Orlando in late June. The 29-year-old then underwent a second surgery on July 19th, despite passing his required physical as part of the swap, as Robbins notes.
Orlando will be counting on Meeks to provide a boost with his outside shooting this season, an area the team is sorely lacking in, Robbins adds. The former second-round pick, No. 41 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, owns a career 37.3% mark from beyond the three-point line. Through 418 career regular season games, Meeks has notched averages of 9.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He is in the final year of his current deal and will earn $6,540,000 in 2016/17.