We won't have to wait much longer to see Kyrie Irving make his on-court debut for the Brooklyn Nets. 

After missing Brooklyn's first preseason game on Friday night -- a 137-89 blowout win over Brazil's Franca -- as a precaution after he took an elbow to the face during practice, Irving is expected to travel to Shanghai, China and suit up for the Nets when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, Oct. 10, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN. The Nets are set to play two exhibitions against the Lakers in Shanghai.  

This is obviously good news for the Nets, who will want Irving to get some experience playing with his new teammates before the regular season gets underway in a few weeks. Irving initially suffered the injury to his face during a practice session on Sept. 25. At that time he was diagnosed with a left side facial fracture, and listed as day-to-day. In order to protect his face, Irving will wear a protective mask for the time being. 

Unsurprisingly, Kevin Durant will not make the trip with his teammates to China, as he continues to recover from the Achilles injury that he suffered in the NBA Finals as a member of the Golden State Warriors in June. Durant is progressing well from the injury, but fans still shouldn't expect to see him suit up for a game this season, as Nets general manager Sean Marks already shut down that possibility, something Durant himself echoed at media day. 

"He's attacking this [rehab] like no other," Marks said earlier this week, via SNY. "I've been excited to see it, I think we all have, how he's approached this rehab, which has been great, very refreshing and energizing to the whole group. At the end of the day, this is a long-term plan here. This was never about this next season. This is about getting an elite athlete back to elite physical shape on the court whatever that takes."

With Durant sidelined, Irving will be expected to carry a larger load with the new-look Nets, who open up their regular season at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 23.