Washington Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly will be sidelined to begin the season after undergoing surgery on his right thumb. The 21-year-old suffered the injury while competing with the French national team at EuroBasket.

Coulibaly had surgery to repair a torn ligament in the thumb and is expected to miss six to eight weeks, according to RG . Washington's opener is set for Oct. 22 on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. Coulibaly's recovery timetable means he will almost certainly miss that game and could remain out into November.

Even if the recovery leans toward the shorter end of the timeline, Coulibaly will need a ramp-up before returning to game action. That process typically involves progressing from conditioning work to non-contact drills before being cleared for full contact. Th

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