Report: Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Expected to Make His Return vs the Atlanta Hawks on Friday

The Atlanta Hawks are on the road tomorrow against one of the best teams in the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota has been playing well without one of their most talented players, but they just might be getting him back soon according to multiple reports.

The Athletic's Shams Charania and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski both said on social media earlier today that Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to return tomorrow vs Atlanta and has been upgraded to questionable.

Minnesota All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to make his return vs. Atlanta on Friday, sources tell ESPN. Towns was upgraded to questionable for game. https://t.co/Z7Z1DM0JS4
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2024

Towns has not played since March 4th and has been out with a meniscus injury. The Wolves have played well without him, but he is one of the most talented big men in the NBA and will provide a huge boost on offense to a team that has NBA Finals aspirations.

Heading into their matchup in Minnesota, the Hawks released their injury report and there were some notable things that stood out.

AJ Griffin (right ankle sprain) has been upgraded to questionable for tomorrow. Griffin has not played much this season for the Hawks, but it would be interesting to see how they handle him if he is able to go. Dejounte Murray (right quad contusion) is also questionable for tomorrow's game/

Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Wesley Matthews, Seth Lundy, and Onyeka Okongwu are all out.

The Hawks provided two big updates today on on two of their best players, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.

"Forward Jalen Johnson left Tuesday’s game vs. Miami with a right ankle sprain. An MRI taken yesterday at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex revealed a Grade 2 lateral ankle sprain. He will be re-evaluated in approximately three weeks.

Center Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain) underwent a non-surgical procedure on Tuesday at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute to address ongoing inflammation in his left big toe. He will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks."

This is huge news for Atlanta and it might mean that we have seen the last of Johnson and Okongwu for the rest of the season. Given the timelines for both players, the Hawks would not only need to win both play-in games to get into the playoffs but would likely have to win a series for both to possibly come back. Given that their opponent would be the Celtics, that is a very unlikely scenario.

This is unfortunate for both players because they were both playing well, especially Johnson. They have both been battling injuries this season and the Hawks are going to have some things to figure out ahead of next week's play-in matchups.