Russell Westbrook “progressing,” still not cleared for full practice

Russell Westbrook, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in September, is nearing a return but has yet to be cleared by the Thunder medical staff for full-contact competition.

Royce Young reports:

“Every day for him, he feels better and better,” said Donovan, whose team will visit the Golden State Warriors next Tuesday. “I don’t want to say [if he’ll be ready]. I know you guys want to know that, but that’s too far out and there will be a lot of things that will go into that decision.

”There’s certain things he’ll have to go through to get himself fully cleared to play, but he’s certainly moving in the right direction and he’s worked really hard at his rehab to get himself back.”

While Westbrook has participated in what Donovan calls “controlled situations,” there are still more benchmarks to be crossed before he is fully cleared for action, which may cause the former MVP to miss several regular season games, including an opening night game vs the champion Warriors.