Sydney Kings star Julian Khazzouh has suffered another setback, with the NBL power forward's time on the sideline extended by a month.
It is the third time the big man has been forced to postpone a return date on his injured quadricep, forcing the club to sign former NBA player Josh Powell a fortnight ago.
Rookie Kings coach Andrew Gaze said Khazzouh isn't expected to re-join his teammates on the practice court for at least another two weeks.
"Unfortunately his quad has still got a bit of work to do," Gaze said on Tuesday.
"I don't expect him to be back on the court practice environment, where he can actually scrimmage against the players and do those things for a couple of weeks."
Gaze initially believed he would have the sweet-shooting Khazzouh back in July.
"There was a big delay, had some setbacks and then we thought by our trip to China, he'd be right to come on that trip," Gaze said.
"Had a setback there and it was really after that setback, we felt that we needed to make a change and bring in some insurance because we just didn't know how long Julian was going to be out for."
The 30-year-old hasn't played since injuring his quad last December, when he was averaging a league-leading 1.8 blocks per game to with his 13.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.
The Kings haven't given up hope of Khazzouh wearing the purple and gold this season.
"He's too valuable to the long-term, to push and rush and get him back just for the sake of getting him back," Gaze said.
"We're going to be really patient with him because he's coming off a pretty serious injury and one that however long it takes, we're thinking about him and his long-term future, not necessarily what happens in the next week or two."
The NBL ladder leaders have won four straight and next host Brisbane on Sunday.
