Joe Harris expected to make full recovery by training camp after second ankle surgery

Shortly after the Brooklyn Nets’ 114-106 win against the Utah Jazz Monday night, the team disclosed that Joe Harris underwent successful left ankle ligament reconstruction surgery earlier in the day.

The Nets wing is expected to make a full recovery prior to next season’s training camp, per the Nets statement. The procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay Wisconsin. There is no word whether or when Harris will rejoin the team on the bench.

The operation marked Harris’ second surgery on his left ankle this season. After suffering the initial ankle injury on Nov. 14 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harris underwent the first operation on Nov. 29 — an arthroscopic surgery that involved the removal of a loose body — that was performed by Dr, Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery. O’Malley is the Nets long-time orthopedist and foot/ankle specialist.

Roughly two months later, Harris suffered a few setbacks in his ankle rehab. The wing wanted to avoid a second operation but Sean Marks disclosed on March 3 that Harris would need the second surgery after the longest-tenured Net “worked diligently over the past several months to rehab his ankle and exhausted every possible avenue in order to get back on the court with his teammates.”

Harris has been one of the most durable Nets across his tenure with the franchise. Although he only played in 14 games this season, posting averages of 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 30.2 minutes per game, he had only missed 16 games since joining the team in 2016.