Richie Saunders came off the injury report Monday, moving from Out to Cleared after missing time with a right knee issue. He is now in line to be available when the team opens the season on the road against the Hawks on Oct. 5.
What happened
Richie Saunders came off the injury report Monday, Sept. 28, with his status changed from Out to Cleared at 7:24 p.m. ET. He had carried the Out designation since Sunday, Sept. 6, when the report listed a right knee issue. Monday's report gave no further detail beyond the status change and included no additional comment. No expected return date was attached, since he is now cleared rather than working toward a timeline. The move ends a stretch of more than three weeks on the report tied to the same right knee.
What it means for the team
The team is scheduled to open the season on the road at the Hawks on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. ET, and Saunders' clearance means he is available for that game barring any change on a later report. He does not yet have a season statistical line, since the 2026-27 season has not started, and the team's record sits at 0-0. In minutes logged without him, Toby Okani averaged 36.2 minutes and 10.0 points, and Lucas Williamson played 32.0 minutes and scored 10.4 points a game. Ja Morant played the most minutes among that group, 28.4 a night, with 19.4 points. There is no with-or-without split yet, since no regular-season games have been played.
What to watch
The next injury report will show whether Saunders' status holds through the opener at the Hawks on Oct. 5. No expected return timeline was ever attached to this entry, since he has already been cleared rather than given a recovery target. His right knee, which kept him out since Sept. 6, is the item to track once games begin. Beyond the opener, how his workload is handled in the early games is the next signal worth watching.
Is Richie Saunders playing at the Hawks on Oct. 5?
He was cleared from the injury report on Monday, Sept. 28, after being out since Sept. 6. He carries no restriction as of that report, but the report closer to Oct. 5 will confirm his final status for the opener.
When will Richie Saunders be back?
He is already cleared. The report does not list an expected return date because his status changed to Cleared, not to a recovery timeline.