Michael Porter Jr. could return this season, renowned surgeon says

Don't hold your breath, Missouri basketball fans. This is simply speculation.

Dr. Rick Lehman - who's treated Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods in the past - told 590AM in St. Louis that he doesn't believe Tigers freshman Michael Porter Jr. will need the entire reported three-to-four month recovery timeline from back surgery.

"Most single-level decompression (back surgeries) take six-to-eight weeks to recover," Lehman said, according to Alec Lewis of The Missourian. "The thought that he'd miss the whole season - in my opinion - is probably not realistic. Everyone is going to cheat on the long side a little bit and say it's going to take a little longer just in case things do."

Porter underwent the procedure on Nov. 21, with the expectation that he would miss the remainder of the season. However, he posted a Snapchat on Nov. 26 that suggested an early return:

Lehman's timeline of six-to-eight weeks would see Porter return sometime in January - a prospect that Tigers fans would surely be excited about.

Porter played just two minutes in Missouri's first game of the season before leaving with the back injury. He's still projected as a high lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft if he declares.