Markelle Fultz returns to lineup for 76ers

Markelle Fultz will return to the Philadelphia 76ers' lineup on Monday.

Coach Brett Brown made the surprise announcement before the Sixers' game against Denver. Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 draft, will come off the bench. Fultz played the 76ers' first four games of the season but has been sidelined since.

Fultz was ruled out indefinitely in October with soreness and a scapular muscle imbalance in the shoulder. The team announced Dec. 9 the soreness was gone, the imbalance had been resolved, and he was going to participate in "elevated on-court basketball activities." Then on Jan. 2, the team announced Fultz had been cleared to begin the final stage of his "return-to-play program."