Kevin Love hoping to return from broken hand in mid-March

Love has had a lot of problems with that right hand, breaking it two separate times this year. The 24-year-old first broke it in preseason, but elected not to undergo surgery and wound up returning 10 days ahead of schedule. He then really struggled, shooting just 35.2 percent in 18 games before breaking the hand again in early January.

Love decided to go under the knife after the second break, and he admits the hand feels a lot better, although he has not yet resumed any basketball-related activities. He plans to meet with doctors for another examination in either the first or second week of March.

Love first broke the hand during the team’s training camp on Oct. 17, and he did not return until the end of November, missing the Timberwolves first nine games. An MRI over the weekend revealed that Love had re-fractured the third metacarpal in his hand, but the immediate timetable for his return was still unknown. The news Wednesday clarifies that, and it appears Love will likely miss the next two months of the season.

UPDATE: The Wolves have confirmed the news.

According to the team’s official PR Twitter feed, Love will be examined by hand specialist Dr. Andy Weiland in New York City “later this week.” There is no further information from the team, but Weiland is the specialist that Love met with when he initially suffered the injury.

The injury was revealed after an MRI taken early Saturday. Love originally injured his hand while doing knuckle push-ups during a morning workout Oct. 17. His return in November was actually a surprise, as many expected him to remain inactive until December.

The All-Star big man originally broke his right hand while performing knuckle push-ups during a morning workout routine back on Oct. 17, and he was expected to miss at least a month of action while he recovered. Love made his return to Minnesota’s practice court over the weekend and appeared to be making progress towards his estimated Dec. 1 return date, but the team clearly came to the conclusion that he is fit to play immediately.

Though it’s difficult to say the type of impact Love will have in his first game back after breaking a pair of bones in his hand, it’s hard to imagine the Timberwolves would send their talented big man back to the court if he’s anything less than 100%.

The regular season starts for the Timberwolves on Nov. 2 when they host the Sacramento Kings.