Jazz G Williams expects to return Wednesday

Nov 22, 2008 - 10:26 PM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams may finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Williams - who has been out for most of the last month with a second-degree sprain in his left ankle - expects to return to Utah's lineup within the next week.

In a report in The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday, Williams said he has set Wednesday's home meeting with the Memphis Grizzlies as his return date.

The fourth-year star originally suffered the injury in a preseason game against the Chicago Bulls, when he landed awkwardly on Derrick Rose's foot while attempting a 3-pointer.

Williams was sidelined until November 11, when he played back-to-back road games against Philadelphia and Washington. However, Williams admitted that the return was premature, and he has been out ever since.

"I already tried to come back one time when I shouldn't have," Williams told the Tribune. "Might as well just wait until I feel good and ready."

The ankle injury has significantly limited Williams' range of motion and his ability to push off. But he has been back at practice in recent days.

"I'm starting to get some of my spring back," he said. "A little less discomfort when I do the spin moves and things like that."

While the Jazz have gotten off to an 8-5 start without the services of Williams, they have been forced to overcome a slew of other injuries. All-Star forward Carlos Boozer went down with a strained left quadriceps tendon late in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's victory over the Milwaukee Bucks and missed Friday's game in San Antonio.

Utah's leading scorer, Boozer told the Tribune he expects to be back within a week to 10 days.

The Jazz also have recently been without reserve sharpshooter Kyle Korver (sprained wrist) and center Jarron Collins (bruised elbow).

"If you have injuries, what do you do about it? It's a crybaby thing as far as I'm concerned," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan told the Tribune. "You've just got to go play. That's what everybody else does."