John Wall Expected to Make Full Recovery from Achilles Injury, Says Wizards GM

John Wall hasn't played an NBA game since December 2018, but the Washington Wizards feel good about his recovery from a ruptured Achilles. 

General manager Tommy Shepard provided an update on the point guard during Sunday's AMA session on Reddit:

"We're extremely pleased with John's condition right now, his participation throughout the rehab process has been fantastic. I've never seen him this motivated to make a full recovery. We see John scrimmage with the Go-Go, we see him at practice with the Wizards. And while the rust is still there, there's plenty of signs that point to a full recovery."

Despite Wall's progress, Shepard confirmed last month that he is not going to play at all in 2019-20.

"I think we have maintained that all along. We didn't plan on seeing him this year," he said in February, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. "I think that's fair to John, to manage the expectations for him."

Wall's surgery, which he underwent on Feb. 12 last year, came with a recovery time of 11 to 15 months, per Hughes.

While this put him on track to potentially return for the second half of this season, the Wizards had little motivation to rush him back with the team spending most of the year out of playoff contention. A late push has the squad up to ninth in the Eastern Conference entering Sunday with a 23-39 record.

Bradley Beal has especially thrived without his usual backcourt mate, ranking second in the NBA at 30.5 points per game behind only James Harden.

Factoring in the promising play of young big men like Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant, there could be a lot to look forward to in Washington when Wall is back to full strength.

Even with two lost seasons, the 29-year-old is still a five-time All-Star who averaged 23.1 points and 10.7 assists per game during his last healthy year in 2016-17.

With over $40 million owed in each of the next two seasons and a $47.4 million player option for 2022-23, Wall likely isn't going anywhere, giving him an opportunity to stay patient in his recovery.