Could Michael Porter Jr. actually play this season for Missouri basketball?

Speculation has started that the Mizzou star could return this season.

Michael Porter Jr. was supposed to be the golden boy who saved Mizzou basketball. He was supposed to be the best freshman in the country. At the end of the year, he was supposed to compete for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

Instead, Porter’s one-and-done season at Missouri ended before it ever got started. After being pulled in the first minute of the first game of the year, Mizzou announced Porter would have microdiscectomy surgery of the L3-L4 spinal discs. The program announced a projected recovery time of three-four months and that he was likely to miss the remainder of the season.

Or will he? Just three weeks after the procedure, there’s already speculation that Porter could return to Mizzou this season after all.

One well known sports doctor thinks he’ll be back soon

Rick Lehman is a St. Louis-based orthopedic surgeon who has worked with Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Cam Newton and many more. He has the lengthy Wikipedia page to prove it.

Lehman told local radio he thinks Porter should be able to return this season (it’s worth noting he is not treating him). He expounded on it in an interview to the Missouri student newspaper.

“Most single-level decompression (back surgeries) take six to eight weeks to recover,” Lehman said. “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.

“My belief is that he’ll be back six to eight weeks from the time of surgery pretty comfortably.”

As Rock M. Nation notes, four weeks from now would be January 10, when Mizzou has a home game against Georgia.

Porter questioned the timeline himself

On Nov. 26, just days after the surgery, Porter questioned the original timeline in a Snapchat post, writing “whoever said it was gonna take 3-4 months to recover lied.”

Who said that? Well, Mizzou. It seemed odd Porter would publicly call out the program like that, but perhaps this is another indication that the Tigers just wanted to be cautious with the initial diagnosis. That way there was no pressure from fanbase on Porter to return this season if he was unable to.

Herniated disks are still scary for athletes

Make no mistake, back injuries are terrifying for athletes even if most recover fully. That’s even true for a 19-year-old like Porter Jr.

The most famous recent example of a basketball player to undergo a microdiscectomy is Dwight Howard. Howard had the procedure done in April of 2012 before he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Anyone who saw him play in LA knew he didn’t look like the same agile, limber center that dominated the league as a member of the Orlando Magic even six months after the surgery.

Peyton Manning recovered from a herniated disk in his neck (considered more serious than in the back) and still returned to win the Super Bowl in Denver. Tennis’ Andy Murray and former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo also had the procedure.

There’s always a chance back pain can become chronic following a microdiscectomy. It’s possible Porter could have some lingering stiffness that limits his lateral quickness and flexibility. It’s something NBA teams will have to weigh heavily before pulling the trigger on Porter as a likely top-five pick in June’s draft.

There’s still no way of knowing if Porter will be able to play this season. Missouri is off to a promising 8-2 start and his younger brother Jontay Porter is turning into a star in his own right. If Porter can come back and still be effective, Mizzou’s NCAA tournament chances just got a lot more interesting.

The truth is that Porter has bigger things in front of him. He’s going to be a top pick in the draft and has to value his future over his present. But if Porter can return this season, the Tigers would love to have him.