George Lynch had the protective boot removed from his left foot Friday, just as he anticipated. He won't be available to the Hornets quite as quickly as he had hoped, however.

Lynch, a 6-foot-8 forward from North Carolina, will likely not be able to play until late January, perhaps three weeks later than the Jan.7 best-case timetable he had hoped for.

"We'll just see how it goes after he starts practice and hope everything will go smoothly," coach Paul Silas said Friday before the Hornets' game at Minnesota. "We don't want to take any chances on rushing him back and him getting hurt again.

"A lot of this will be up to George and how he feels as we go along."

Lynch has not yet played for the Hornets after joining them in October in the trade that sent Derrick Coleman to Philadelphia. Lynch had been a starter at small forward for the Sixers.

Soon after his arrival in Charlotte, he had surgery for a second time to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot. After doctors examined him Friday he was given permission to begin treadmill and shooting work but will not be allowed to practice for at least three weeks.

At that time he will be re-evaluated to see if he can begin full workouts. Lynch said last week he thought he would need 10 to 14 days of practice before he would be ready to play.

"It shouldn't take us that long to work him in," Silas said. "He's played basketball long enough to know what we're doing after a few walk-throughs (of offensive sets) and some practice." Lynch