Kevin Durant Rumors: Suns Optimistic Star Will Return from Injury by End of March

Kevin Durant is nearing a return to NBA action as he has begun getting some more on-court work, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Charania reported the organization is hopeful that the superstar forward will return from his left ankle injury between the end of March and the beginning of April with the mindset that Durant will be at his healthiest by the time the postseason comes around.

Durant, 34, has missed Phoenix's last six games after he sprained his ankle during a pregame warmup ahead of his Suns home debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 8.

He has played in only three games since the Suns acquired him from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline.

Prior to the ankle sprain, Durant also missed his first six games with Phoenix as he was still recovering from a right knee injury that he suffered with the Nets in January against the Miami Heat, which caused him to miss 20 games in total.

In total, the 13-time All-Star has missed 27 games this season and has had his fair share of injury problems over the last few years.

Despite the extremely small sample size, Durant has looked like a perfect fit in Phoenix alongside Chris Paul and Devin Booker. He scored 23, 20 and 37 points, respectively, in those three games, looking like he hadn't lost a step despite the long layoff.

Durant is averaging 29.5 points per game on 56.6 percent shooting along with 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He'd likely be right in the middle of the MVP discussions if not for how much time he's missed.

Phoenix is currently 38-33 and is the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.