Charlotte Hornets’ Michael Kidd-Gilchrist cleared for contact drills

Charlotte Hornets small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has been cleared for contact in practice, the next major step toward his return to playing this season.

Kidd-Gilchrist had shoulder surgery in October to repair a torn labrum. He was originally projected to miss six months while rehabilitating the injury.

Kidd-Gilchrist was cleared to practice non-contact about two weeks ago. Tuesday he was cleared by team physician Dr. Marcus Cook to participate in contact drills.

There is no timetable for Kidd-Gilchrist playing this season, but he expressed confidence recently that he would return in time to play in the regular season.

"For sure. No question I’m going to play this season," Kidd-Gilchrist told the Observer Jan. 5. "I’m going to play. It’s a matter of when now."

Kidd-Gilchrist is the Hornets’ best perimeter defender. The Hornets drafted him second overall in the 2012 draft. The team signed him to a four-year, $52 million contract extension over the summer.

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets’ Michael Kidd-Gilchrist cleared for contact drills."