James Harden progressing well, on track to return in roughly two weeks

Two weeks ago, various sources reported that Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden was set to miss about a month, due to a tendon strain in his right foot. The former MVP is now 15 days removed from that injury and spoke with reporters on Thursday, when he told them he’s “on pace” to meet that timeline for recovery.

“The first week was basically letting everything fall back into place and then you kind of just build up from there. So, you got the rehab, you got the pool workouts, you got the Alter G, which is basically a treadmill, but it’s kind of helping you run at a nice pace,” Harden told reporters. “Then, hopefully, once the pain fully goes away and then you kind of start going to the court, and then you got the rest of the week of just building the cardio back up and things like that. So, I feel good.”

He participated in a shooting drill at the practice facility and worked out on the treadmill Thursday. He’s also no longer wearing a walking boot.

“I feel good. On pace. Starting to slowly ramp it up a little bit. I’ve been running on a treadmill with some resistance and things like that,” Harden said. “I’ve been doing some pool workouts. We got to plan. We got a script that we’re trying to stick to. All in all, I feel good.”

If he sat out exactly one month after his injury, which occurred on Nov. 2, he’d return Dec. 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and miss nine more games. Philadelphia has gone 3-2 in his absence, featuring a trio of wins over playoff-caliber teams in the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz. They’ve not played since Sunday and will end their hiatus with a duel against the Milwaukee Bucks Friday inside Wells Fargo Center at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Through nine games, Harden is averaging 22 points (59.1 percent true shooting), 10 assists, seven rebounds and 1.1 steals.