A new back injury has sidelined Ben Simmons but the agent of the injury-plagued NBA star expects he will return for Brooklyn later this season.
Though less serious than the back issue that scuppered his first campaign as a Net, Simmons' injury is a setback to his case for selection in Australia's Olympic team for the Paris Games.
Simmons had been tipped as a key cog in Brian Goorjian's back-court, with veteran Patty Mills unable to crack the rotation at the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic guard Joe Ingles now 36.
Simmons had been committed to making his Boomers comeback at next year's Games, now only eight months away, after opting out of Tokyo to focus on his shooting and missing the 2023 World Cup injured.
The 27-year-old had already been sidelined with a hip complaint sustained in last week's four-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Simmons' MRI revealed a pinched nerve in his lower back ahead of the game against Orlando on Wednesday (AEDT).
"He will be out at least a week," Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said.
"I had been telling you guys (the media) that he was day-to-day. I try to give you guys as much as I can, as honest as I can.
"We'll look at him a week from now.
"He had been showing signs of being positive and leaning in the right direction of feeling better. So hopefully a week from now we can see some more progress."
Protracted injury struggles have haunted Simmons in recent seasons.
He joined Brooklyn in February 2022 after a messy exit from the Philadelphia 76ers but did not debut for the Nets until last October following back issues that required off-season surgery.
While playing his way back into shape last season, Simmons developed knee and calf pain that forced him to sit out 20 games, before a nerve impingement in his back ended his season in March.
But Simmons' agent Bernie Lee did not believe the current injury would trigger another long absence from the court.
"He's not experiencing anything similar to what he's gone through in the past or what he went through last year," Lee told the New York Post.
"This is something that the expectation is that with the proper kind of rehab, he'll be able to resume his season in a short period of time without any issue."
Since returning to the court this season, Simmons has averaged 6.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists in six games.
