"Brandon Jennings believes mid-January is a good target date for his return from surgery on his left foot.

In the meantime, the Milwaukee Bucks point guard is not going stir crazy.

Trust him on it, even though the 21-year-old admits it's difficult for him to watch his teammates instead of running the show.

"I don't want to rush back and then be hurt again," Jennings said in an interview before the Bucks beat Dallas on Saturday night at the Bradley Center.

"It's good that I've been able to rehab. I've been working out, lifting weights and riding a bike."

Jennings wears a protective boot on his left foot when he does his workouts. He is now two weeks removed from the surgery to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal bone, an injury he suffered on a drive to the basket against San Antonio on Dec. 15.

He returned to play in the second half against the Spurs and started against Utah on Dec. 18. But Jennings didn't have his usual explosiveness against the Jazz and knew something was wrong.

An MRI exam confirmed an initial diagnosis of a fracture and Jennings immediately underwent the surgery Dec. 20. It was expected he would be out four to six weeks.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles said he was encouraged with Jennings' progress.

"He's moving around better on it and he was back here riding the bike," Skiles said before the game Saturday. "My understanding is it's going as planned.

"There will be a point where he comes out to the floor and starts moving around. At that point you always have a better gauge. It's still too early to get any kind of a definite timetable on it."

The Bucks have been coping without Jennings, using veterans Keyon Dooling and Earl Boykins to share the point guard role. Milwaukee is 3-3 since losing Jennings, including victories over the Lakers in Los Angeles and the 99-87 victory over a short-handed Dallas team."