Nets star James Harden suffered a "setback" in his right hamstring rehabilitation, the team announced Tuesday, and he will be out indefinitely.
The nine-time All-Star experienced the setback during an on-court rehab session Monday and had an MRI on Tuesday. Brooklyn coach Steve Nash, who was present at the workout, said Harden didn't do "anything out of the ordinary" but felt something "in the ballpark of a strain."
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"Yeah, back to square one," Nash said before Tuesday's game between the Nets and Pelicans. "We'll rehabilitate him and get him back whenever we can, and who knows when that will be? But we'll support James, and we'll support our performance team in getting him back in his best condition as possible.
"And hopefully that comes sooner than later, but there's no guarantee. We just keep chipping away, we keep moving forward and we hope for a speedy recovery."
Steve Nash, on Harden's injury: "He'll be back when he's back".
— Dylan Zhao (@CGTNDylanZhao) April 21, 2021
James Harden has had a setback with his hamstring injury and will be sidelined “indefinitely,” the club announced on Tuesday. #NBA #Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/FZkCUEL04D
Harden, who is averaging 25.4 points, 11.0 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game with the Nets, had emerged as an MVP candidate before being sidelined by the hamstring issue. He has missed Brooklyn's past six games.
Since acquiring Harden in January, the Nets' "Big Three" of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving has only played in seven total games together. Durant suffered a left thigh contusion in Sunday's game against the Heat, but Nash said that injury is a "day-to-day thing." The team is hopeful he will be back soon.
