Bender seeks to return this season after ankle surgery

DOUG HALLER

MILWAUKEE – An hour before Sunday’s tip-off, Dragan Bender, dressed in workout gear, grabbed some weights outside the Suns locker room and went to work. Beside him, center Alex Len stretched with a trainer at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

While Len prepared for his second consecutive start, Bender simply was trying to keep in shape. On Feb. 8, the rookie forward had minor surgery on his right ankle. Initial reports indicated Bender was done for the season. The Suns set the timetable for 4-6 weeks.

And so Bender – the NBA’s youngest player at 19 – worked.

“I’m right where I should be,” he said. “It’s the second week. I’m trying to get the range of motion back, get the muscles working. It’s still a 4-to-6 weeks (recovery). It could take more, it could take less. It just depends how my body responds. We’ll have to wait and see.”

In January, Bender had soreness in his ankle. He sat out four games and then returned Feb. 1, playing 13 productive minutes against the Clippers. The soreness, however, persisted.

“After getting a couple of second opinions, we decided the best thing to do was the surgery,” Bender said.

While the Suns prepared for a game at Memphis, Bender had a bone spur removed from his right ankle at Duke University Hospital. He was on crutches for a couple days. He wore a protective boot for a week. The next phase: building strength.

Although Bender has not started running – or even shooting – he still hopes to return this season. That’s why he was on this trip, his first since the surgery.

“Definitely,” Bender said. “I still want to play this season. I’m coming on the trips, being around the guys, being around the trainers, trying to get back as soon as possible.”