Report: Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga to Return vs. Kings; Missed 31 Games with Injury

The Golden State Warriors will have a key player back on the floor this week after an extended absence.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Jonathan Kuminga will return Thursday after missing 31 games due to a sprained ankle. According to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, head coach Steve Kerr said he wants to "bring Kuminga along slowly in short bursts until he back to 100" and will continue using recent contributors like Gui Santos.

Per The Athletic's Anthony Slater, Kuminga still needs to meet certain medical requirements before being officially cleared to play. Slater added that Kerr plans to bring him off the bench on a minutes restriction.

Kuminga, in his fourth season in the NBA, averaged 16.8 points and five rebounds in his first 32 games before the injury. He put up 21 points per game in December right before suffering the injury against the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 4.

It might take Kuminga a few weeks to get back to that level, but luckily his return gives him 17 games to find his groove before the start of the playoffs.

When Kuminga went down with his injury more than two months ago, the playoffs seemed out of reach for the Warriors. Now, things have changed and Golden State is looking to make a deep postseason run.

Since bringing in Jimmy Butler in February, the Warriors have won 12 of their 14 games and are soaring up the Western Conference Standings, currently sitting in sixth place at 37-28.

Butler is putting up 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists since joining the Warriors while his co-star, Steph Curry, is averaging 24.5 points, 6.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds.

With Curry, Butler and the Warriors playing their best basketball of the season, adding Kuminga, who has become a staple of the roster over the last few years, back to the lineup should only help Golden State's chances of making a playoff run.