Khris Middleton expected to miss 6 months after hamstring surgery

The recovery timetable of Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton is finally beginning to take shape, and it’s none too encouraging.

The team announced on Thursday that Middleton underwent successful surgery to repair his ruptured left hamstring and is expected to miss approximately six months.

The 25-year-old was hurt earlier this month in preseason workouts. Training camp is just getting underway, but a six-month absence would put Middleton’s return around late March, near the very end of the regular season.

Without their rising 3-and-D wing for the foreseeable future, it will take a total team effort for the Bucks to fill the massive crater he leaves in their lineup. Milwaukee’s recent acquisition of Michael Beasley should help keep the offense serviceable, but Jabari Parker will likely be asked to defend the perimeter more often and possibly to expand his range out to the three-point line. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s length/athleticism may also have to wielded as a central component of the Bucks’ defensive identity, while the team could be forced to slow the pace and play more heavily through the post passing and interior scoring of Greg Monroe as a makeshift method of floor spacing.