Point guard will still miss first four to six weeks of season.
Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook has taken part in practice drills as he continues his comeback from a knee injury.
The 24-year-old underwent surgery earlier this month after suffering a setback in his recovery from an initial knock he sustained at the end of last season.
Westbrook has surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in May, but suffered from swelling and the decision was taken for him to undergo another procedure.
However, there was a sense of optimism on Monday as he returned to practice with coach Scott Brooks buoyed by his recent progress.
“There were bits and pieces where Russell participated in practice, so that was good,” he told the Daily Oklahoman according to ESPN.
“It was good to get everybody out there, working together.”
It is still expected that Westbrook will miss the first four to six weeks of the regular season, but his return to light training is a promising sign for the rest of the roster which will be looking forward to his return to the court.
Westbrook averaged 23.2 points and 7.4 assists per game last year, as he helped the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference.
However, after injury struck in the first round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets they were unable to progress beyond the semi-finals with Kevin Durant ultimately taking too much of the scoring responsibility of the team.
Reggie Jackson will be expected to now fill in to start the season, although there is still a great deal of pressure on Durant’s shoulders to deliver offensively in order to help the Thunder try to repeat their achievements of last year.
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