Wizards' John Wall Waiting for 2020-21 NBA Season to Return from Achilles Injury

Regardless of when the NBA returns from its current hiatus, Washington Wizards star John Wall doesn't plan on playing until the 2020-21 season.

"Nah. ... In our best-case scenario, we're just gonna wait til next season," he said about playing this season on ESPN's The Jump, via Fred Katz of The Athletic.

Wall has been recovering from a heel injury that he suffered in December 2018.

The 29-year-old has been patient in his recovery that includes a ruptured Achilles suffered in January 2019, while Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard confirmed in February that Wall would not play this season.

"I think we have maintained that all along. We didn't plan on seeing him this year," Sheppard said, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports. "I think that's fair to John, to manage the expectations for him. He's on his way, but he's not there and he's not close yet. He's a lot closer than he was a year ago when the injury happened."

The mindset might have changed with the 2019-20 season being suspended due to the coronavirus, giving the five-time All-Star more time to rehabilitate before returning to the court.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Thursday that "optimism is growing" among owners that the season will be salvaged. 

However, that won't affect the point guard's timeline for recovery.

"We've said all along that we can't wait until John plays next season, and I think that will still be our attitude and our stance," Sheppard said after the season was suspended, per Candace Buckner of the Washington Post.

Washington was also 5.5 games out of the playoffs when the season was halted.