Schrempf Says He’ll Return Soon

The Seattle SuperSonics are preparing for three weeks without Detlef Schrempf, but the injured forward said that may not be necessary.

“Three weeks to me means one week,” said Schrempf, who was placed on the injured list last week with a partially torn peroneal tendon of the left foot.

The Sonics play host to the New Jersey Nets Friday night at 7 at KeyArena with Larry Stewart expected to again start in Schrempf’s place.

Seattle is expected to be bolstered by the return of David Wingate from the injured list. Wingate, a reserve guard and forward, said he feels mostly recovered from a pulled groin muscle.

Schrempf is eligible to come off the injured list after Tuesday. The team said Schrempf will be out until at least late March, but Schrempf said Thursday he thinks it could be a shorter vacation.

“Right now, there’s no pain at all,” Schrempf said.

But right now, Schrempf isn’t doing much on the foot, which is wrapped in an inflatable walking cast. He said he will have another magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test on the injury on Monday, after which more should be known.

For the time being, Schrempf is swimming, lifting weights and riding the stationary bike to keep in shape.

“But it’s not like playing ball,” said Schrempf, who is worried about getting out of game shape. “It’s not just sitting out a week that sets you back, it’s a week of not doing much at all.”