Knicks Rumors: Mitchell Robinson Expected to Return from Ankle Injury vs. Raptors

The ailing New York Knicks are going to get a boost on Wednesday night when Mitchell Robinson makes his first appearance since undergoing ankle surgery in December.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Robinson is expected to be available when the Knicks play the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.

The Knicks announced on Dec. 11 that Robinson suffered a stress fracture in his ankle during a loss to the Boston Celtics three days earlier.

It was initially believed Robinson would miss the remainder of the season. The Knicks even applied for a $7.8 million disabled player exception, but Wojnarowski reported on Jan. 10 that the league denied it because there was optimism he would be able to return at some point.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters on March 20 that Robinson went through a full practice but would have to "go through contact for a while" before he could play in games.

In addition to Robinson, the Knicks have been without Julius Randle since Jan. 27 and only had three games from OG Anunoby since Jan. 29.

Randle was initially expected to miss two to three weeks after suffering a dislocated shoulder in the fourth quarter of a win over the Miami Heat. There's currently no timetable for him to get back on the court.

Anunoby had elbow surgery to remove a loose bone fragment on Feb. 8. He returned to the lineup on March 12 and played three straight games before experiencing a post-surgical flare-up. He has now missed each of the past four games.

Thibodeau said on Monday that Anunoby was able to go through a pregame shootaround, but the irritation in his elbow needed to "calm down" before he could play in games.

Getting Robinson back will help improve the Knicks' frontcourt defense and rebounding. He averaged a career-high 10.3 boards per game in 21 starts before the ankle injury.

The Knicks (43-28) are currently the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Cleveland Cavaliers by one game in the win column for the third spot but are only one game ahead of the Orlando Magic at No. 5.