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NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Pelicans starting point guard Jrue Holiday plans to end his leave of absence next week and rejoin the team prepared to play immediately, two people familiar with the situation said Friday.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because there has been no official announcement about Holidays planned return, which was first reported by Yahoo.The Pelicans announced this past summer that Holiday would take indefinite leave because his wife, Lauren, was pregnant and in need of brain surgery on a benign tumor.Lauren Holiday, a retired international soccer star, gave birth in late September and had surgery last month.The Pelicans, who host the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, have lost eight of their first nine regular-season games.Holiday has been staying with his wife and child in the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina, where Lauren Holidays surgery was performed by Duke University medical specialists. The people who spoke to AP said Holiday has been working out there with personal trainers and has been in constant touch with the Pelicans coaching staff, which has been sending him video of every game since the start of preseason to allow him to study the plays the Pelicans are running and help him remain familiar with the individual games of the teammates hell soon rejoin.Holiday is expected to return as healthy as he has been in several seasons.He began last season on minute restrictions following his rehabilitation from a nagging lower leg injury that had sidelined him for much of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.A former Eastern Conference All-Star with Philadelphia before his trade to New Orleans in 2013, Holiday wound up playing in 65 games with 23 starts during the 2015-16 season, averaging 16.8 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 28.2 minutes per game. He scored 20 or more points 25 times and recorded six double-doubles.Hell soon rejoin a lineup featuring 6-foot-11 forward-center Anthony Davis, who has been averaging 31 points, 11 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.New Orleans also has been playing without guard Tyreke Evans and small forward Quincy Pondexter, who both are rehabilitating from knee surgeries. Evans has said he hopes to play by December and the club is expecting an update on his readiness to begin basketball activities soon. Team officials have projected a longer rehabilitation for Pondexter.Jarvis Landry Browns Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Austin Seibert Youth Jersey . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-Antonio-Callaway-Browns-Jersey/ . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Nick Chubb Youth Jersey . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Sione Takitaki Jersey . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead.Wellingtons shallow depth is going to be put to the test in their A-League season opener on Saturday against Melbourne City, according to veteran Vince Lia.The Phoenix will be without four key men in captain Andrew Durante, Michael McGlinchey, Matt Ridenton and new signing Kosta Barbarouses, all of whom are on All Whites duty.A fifth player, defender Tom Doyle, is also out injured with a hamstring strain.Its already going to test our backline, so were up against it in the first game against (Bruno) Fornaroli, whos the best striker in the competition, Lia told AAP.Our depth is going to be tested but every squad has got to go through it at some stage in the season so itll be a good one for us on Saturday.However, the 31-year-old is confident the team can put up a fight against the competition heavyweights after claiming four wins in the build-up to the season.Not coincidentally, all four have come after the arrival of Italian defender Marco Rossi.While big-name recruits Barbarouses and Gui Finkler have dominated the lead-in to the new campaign, Lia said the addition of the former Serie A defender had given the team a lift.ddddddddddddHes really shored up our backline since coming in and hes a left-foot centre-back, which we havent had before, he said.Our backlines a lot more balanced now. Drewy can go back on the other side. Hes played in Serie A, Serie B, played against some good players, so he knows football.Lia conceded the Phoenixs roster was top-heavy in 2016-17, but was of the firm belief that their first-choice 11 could match it with the best in the league.He declared a top-four finish as their goal this campaign.We want to play finals football - we want to get home finals, he said.Since Marcos come in - that was after the Western Sydney defeat in the FFA Cup - weve done really well. We havent lost since that day.Its been a good back end to the pre-season and it gives us some momentum going into round one.[eat in the FFA Cup - weve done really well. We h ' ' '