Report: Stephen Curry aims to return from ankle injury Friday vs. Hawks

The Golden State Warriors are expecting reinforcements, and not a moment too soon.

Barring any unforeseen issues at a re-evaluation reportedly planned for Tuesday, two-time MVP Stephen Curry is aiming to return to action Friday against the Atlanta Hawks, sources told ESPN's Chris Haynes and Ramona Shelburne.

Curry has been out of action since spraining his right ankle just two minutes into the Warriors' game against the San Antonio Spurs on March 8. The 30-year-old has a long history of ankle issues and missed a pair of games in mid-January after tweaking the same right ankle in practice.

The timing could hardly be better. The Warriors' injury report currently resembles that of a professional rugby team, replete with a litany of breaks, sprains, and bruises.

Here's how the situation looked heading into Monday's game against the Spurs - and it doesn't even include Draymond Green, who suffered a pelvic contusion and missed the entire second half:

At 53-18, the Warriors have already sewn up the Pacific Division title, but for the first time since the franchise's star-studded transformation into an NBA juggernaut, the reigning champs are not on track to finish with the best record in the league. The Houston Rockets (56-14) are now 3.5 games up on Golden State, and with just 11 regular-season matchups remaining for Curry and Co., they have some ground to make up if they want to ensure homecourt advantage throughout the postseason.