INDIANAPOLIS — Pacers president Kevin Pritchard gave an update on Victor Oladipo while addressing the media early Friday morning after the NBA Draft, saying the fan-favorite could be for the first part of the upcoming season.

“He might be out a little bit,” Pritchard said of Oladipo. “I’m hopeful he’ll be back December or January.”

Oladipo’s 2019 season was cut short when he ruptured his right quad tendon in January. Pritchard has been hesitant to put a firm timetable on when he might return.

On May 1, he said, “I don't think it's right to say, 'Well, we know he's going to be back. He'll be back at this time.' Because the truth is the body heals at a different rate for every person.”

Oladipo himself has preached patience during the process.

"I know my body more better than ever than now going through this rehab process,” he told the IndyStar in May. “It’s like relearning my body. I’ll know what to do what not to do, not to overdo it.”

Oladipo's injury generally has a recovery time similar to an anterior cruciate ligament tear, six to nine months. That would have had Oladipo, who was injured Jan. 23, returning at the end of October, though a longer recovery time is not unexpected. Tony Parker suffered a similar injury in May of 2017 and returned in late November of the following season.