CHICAGO – Jae Crowder took a breath, hands on his hips next to the visiting team’s weight room inside the United Center. Still sweating from a lift, the 33-year-old spoke for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a partial tear in his left adductor on Nov. 14.

He had just gotten back on the court for individual work before the team left for Miami, signaling good progress as he still anticipates returning after an eight-week recovery.

“When I touched the ball, I was like, 'All right, I'm getting close. I'm not too far behind,’” he said, smiling. “I'm 14, 15 days post-op and I feel great.”

The Marquette University alumnus was averaging nearly 28 minutes per game and shooting 53% from behind the three-point line through the first eight games of the season, but after about 17 minutes of action against Orlando on Nov. 11 he exited the game and went right to the locker room. He was immediately ruled out with a left groin injury, but Crowder admitted Thursday he was managing an injury there all season long.

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“Well, this situation has been going on since camp,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with this all year and I just felt like I took a wrong fall in Orlando and I was probably like, alright, I need to do something about this and I got an MRI. I was pushing off the medical staff all year about getting an MRI because I felt like I could play with it up until I couldn’t.

"The MRI showed what it showed and it showed what I felt, which was a partial tear in my groin. So, I wanted to get that handled. Glad I caught it early enough, too. Then I stopped trying to play through it. I had played through it since training camp.”

After re-signing with the Bucks as a free agent, Crowder entered the season in good shape, too, having cut weight and feeling more basketball-ready than a season ago when he sat out awaiting a trade out of Phoenix. He didn’t arrive in Milwaukee until the trade deadline in February and played just under 19 minutes per game in 18 regular-season appearances.

But the injury was always in the back of his mind.

“I was thinking like, 'In camp I'm hurt. What if I had to miss some games due to this?’” he said. “Because it was bothering me a lot. I was like, 'I'm going to up my conditioning to where it needs to be leading up to the season.' And I felt like my conditioning was where it needs to be. I was able to play back-to-backs. I'm good. I felt great. It was just a groin injury and it was hit or miss.

"Some days, I'm good. Some days, I really feel it. And it was an up-and-down roller coaster. I felt like I was pushing myself for a stoppage at some point. Not this long. I didn't expect it to be eight weeks, I'm not going to lie, I was thinking a few games, but I think I'm where I need to be. Physically, I'll be fine.

"I'm pushing myself, still working on my cardio. I'm on the treadmill now. I'm just taking it one day at a time, but I think that was in the back of my head a little bit. I can't lie and say it wasn't.”

He acknowledged being disappointed in missing eight weeks of time, but was OK with the fact that it was treated early enough in the season for him to come back and make an impact on the team.

“I think if it would’ve kept me out pretty much all year I’d be very, very upset, because I knew I worked my way back to where I want to be and I’m very confident in myself and my work,” he said. “Once I gathered the information through the medical team, I was able to really calm myself down, first of all, and look forward to this task at hand which was a procedure and rehab.”

That said, it is the first time in his NBA career he’s missing significant time with injury. He never played fewer then 72 games from 2012-19 and played 192 from 2019-22.

“I think it’s testing my mental,” he said of the rehab process. “It’s a test of your mental capacity, just honing rehab and not trying to look to far ahead. I don’t look backwards in life at all. I only look ahead. I think once I put my mind to what I need to work on and work toward, I’m OK.

"My girl was just asking me on the way here, how’s the mental? I swear to God she just texted me that. I’m very good. My circle is good, my people, my family is helping me. Our PT and our medical staff here is doing a great job with me every day.

"I know I’m probably trying to overwork this thing, but they keep me where I need to be mentally and physically I’m just putting the work in. I think my mental was definitely tested early with this whole process and now I’m at a good stage. The guys are playing well, we’re getting Ws, no one’s panicking. I’m just eager to get back and continue to build with the team and hopefully ride it into the playoffs.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks forward Jae Crowder is back on the court following surgery