star made his return to the court Thursday night, playing 24 minutes in the team's 96-91 win over the . He finished with just six points on 2-of-8 shooting, but added five rebounds, five a sists and four steals and was a team-best plus-26. Notably, he was in the starting lineup for this game, unlike his first two outings of the season, where he came off the bench.After mi sing all of last season while recovering from a torn George Hill Jersey ACL suffered in the 2021 playoffs, Leonard played in two of the Clippers' first three games before hitting the sideline again. The team referred to his absence as "right knee injury management," and it's still Stanley Johnson Jersey unclear exactly why he was unable to play in the last 12 games. To no one's surprise, Leonard declined to go into detail following his return. CBS Sports HQ Newsletter Your Ultimate Guide to Every Day in Sports We bring sports news that matters to your inbox, to help you stay informed and get a winning edge. I agree to receive the "CBS Sports HQ Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was Willy Hernangomez Jersey an error proce sing your subscription. "Just rehabbing, getting ready," . "I'm not going to explain it because I'm not a doctor, and nobody in here is one. So just getting back, ready to get on the floor. ... Like I said before, at the start of Brandon Ingram Jersey the season, it's going to be a long journey. ACL recovery isn't just one year. Everybody thinks that, but it's a two-year proce s, so I know that and I'm going to keep going and going through the proce s." It is true that the ACL recovery proce s is longer than just the season the player mi ses. Mentally you need to learn to trust your body again, and physically you need to regain a rhythm and feel for the game. However, you would hope that proce s would play out on the court, like it has for the ' , who was on the same timeline as Leonard.Leonard's setback and the murkine s around the situation, combined with his inability to stay on the court in recent seasons raised serious concerns about the Clippers' prospects this season. They can only reach their full potential as a title contender if he's healthy for the majority of the season and come playoff time, and the past few weeks have made it much harder to believe in that outcome. The Clippers' next game is on Saturday at home against the , Leonard's original team. His Derrick Favors Jersey status for that game is unclear. Click here Click here Click here