Clippers guard Luke Kennard could return as soon as

Luke Kennard approached his locker inside Crypto.com Arena on Thursday evening and, with the exasperated smile of a man tired of waiting

grabbed the black jersey dangling on a hanger and shook it from its sides.

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It has been a while since the reserve guard donned his Clippers jersey

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Eighteen days, and nine games, to be exact,

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since a calf injury he’d first irritated Nov. 15 flared up again after a Jan. 6 game against Minnesota, sidelining him ever since

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The wait soon could be over.

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Kennard and the team are leaving open the possibility that the reserve shooting 46%

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on three-pointers this season could return as soon as Thursday if his recovery continues its encouraging progress.

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I’ve been doing on-court stuff and playing live so it’s just making sure that it’s gone 100%,” Kennard told The Times.

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