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Durant hopes to be cleared to practice in August

By The Sports Xchange

Kevin Durant is working his way back from three foot surgeries within the past year and hopes to be ready to return to the court without restrictions in August.

Durant's 2014-15 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder ended in March with his third foot surgery. His recovery time was estimated at four to six months, and he expects to be fully cleared next month.

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"We're doing X-rays every two weeks and it's looking good," Durant said. "So I'm excited to get back, man. There's no pain, and looking forward to getting back."

The 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player's workouts are limited to taking shots on the floor. He is not doing any running or cutting before he gets the go-ahead.

Durant wore a walking boot until a few weeks ago and just recently begin some activity outside the weight room.

"I think I gotta lose some weight, to be honest," he said. "But I've been putting in a lot of work in the weight room. I haven't moved at all for 12 or 13 weeks, so last week was really the first time I've got on the court and dropped some sweat. I've just been working out in the weight room and eating and just resting up, so like I said last week was really the first time I got on the court."

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The foot injuries limited Durant to 27 games last season. With Durant out, the Thunder missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker.

"It was tough, it was tough," Durant said. "But it's all part of the journey I'm on, man. I'm just going to continue to stay positive and keep working hard, and everything will work out."

The 26-year-old Durant said he's not thinking about becoming a free agent next summer when he's eligible but focusing on getting well.

"No, I haven't thought about it," he said. "I hear it all the time, but I really am just focusing on rehab. I can't get there unless I take care of today. That's the way I look at it even though I hear it from every side, thinking past to next summer. But I'm not even trying to focus on that."

Durant doesn't want a repeat of 2014-15, which was tough after he had missed only 16 games during his seven-year career until this past season.

"Looking back on it now, there's a lot of stuff I would've changed, but it was necessary to go through what I had to go through, mentally, and I'm in a great space right now," Durant said. "Maybe because I'm closer and closer to playing again, but I'm in a great space.

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"My main thing is just getting rid of distractions and focusing on what I have to do. I just can't wait to play the game I love again. That's all I'm focused on."

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