Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. 'could return NEXT WEEK' from broken rib... less than a month after telling police he was hit by a car

Philadelphia 76ers small forward Kelly Oubre is eyeing a possible return to action next week, according to The Athletic.

Oubre has been out of action since he suffered a fractured rib in a reported hit-and-run, when he told police he was struck by a car on November 11.

Following the accident, he was taken to a nearby hospital and released later that night. The Sixers face the Washington Wizards next Wednesday before hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Before suffering the injury, Oubre was averaging 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals through eight games.

'There's some conditioning work that needs to be done on top of just seeing what he can handle contact-wise... I'm just waiting for medical to tell me he's ready to go, right?' 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said during the week. 

'I think that's always the progress of, can he go? Is he freely moving? Which I think he is. Can he get into this contact part of it? Not quite all the way there yet, I don't think.' 

Nurse also revealed that Oubre would join the team during their two-game road trip this week and had participated 'part' of practice on Tuesday. The coach would not even rule out the the 27-year-old returning during Friday's game against the Boston Celtics.

Oubre joined the 76ers on a one-year contract this offseason after spending the last two years of his career with the Charlotte Hornets.

It did not take long for the former Kansas Jayhawk to make a strong impression in Philadelphia. He set the franchise record for most points ever scored by a reserve player in the team's season opener, dropping 27 points in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Three games later he found himself in the starting lineup after James Harden and PJ Tucker were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. 

He remained there until he was forced on to the sidelines due to the injury.

Former Clippers forward Nicolas Batum has been filling Oubre's place in the starting lineup and during that time the 76ers have gone 5-5 after getting off to a 7-1 start.

Batum has averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds through seven starts.