Report: Celtics' Smart cleared for full return to action

Team USA got some good news on the injury front Saturday.

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been cleared to make a full return to the court, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times.

The 25-year-old has been sidelined with a calf injury for over a week. Smart has been doing some on-court work with USA Basketball since Thursday, however, and is expected to play in Australia during the Americans' pre-World Cup tour, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Smart is one of four Celtics players remaining on USA Basketball's 13-man roster and could provide head coach Gregg Popovich with some defensive flexibility. His progression follows the withdrawal of Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox.

The Oklahoma State product has yet to represent his country at the senior level but was a member of Team USA's gold-medal squads at the 2012 FIBA U18 Americas Championship and 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship.

Smart averaged 8.9 points, four assists, and 1.8 steals per contest across 80 NBA appearances last season.