Kyrie Irving Injury Update: Celtics Point Guard Hints At Extended Break

Kyrie Irving has hinted that he could miss Boston Celtics’ next few games after revealing that he could take an extended break to combat knee soreness that has affected him in recent weeks.

The latest episode occurred during the Celtics’ 99-97 loss to Indiana Pacers on Sunday when the point guard was unable to continue after half-time. Irving had already missed a game last week due to a sore knee, and has indicated that he will not return unless he is close to 100% fit.

Celtics were already without Al Horford due to illness and Jaylen Brown, who suffered a concussion after crashing hard on the floor following a dunk in the third quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday and Irving’s absence in the second-half saw them overthrow a 12-point lead against the resurgent Pacers.

"I think [rest] will probably be the best thing, just instead of kind of hoping it gets better over the two or three days that it usually does," Irving said after the game, as quoted on ESPN. "It's aching a little bit more than I wanted it to now, so I'm taking the necessary time."

The Celtics have already secured a place in the playoffs, the start of which is just over a month away, but are still fighting the Toronto Raptors for first place in the Eastern Conference. They are trailing in second place by 3.5 games, but two head-to-head match ups remain before the end of the regular season.

Irving is not concerned by the Celtics’ position at the moment as they are quite comfortably ahead of third-placed Pacers by 10.5 games. He is keen to get back to full fitness before returning to action — a thought that was also echoed by Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

"I'm not concerned. Where we are in the season, I'm pretty comfortable," Irving said. "I think that, competitively, I think that's more or less what I'm concerned about. When I actually do get back on the floor, I want to feel the level I expect myself to be at and I want to play at and being able to sustain it. Right now, I'm not able to do that. I just got to do that."

"If he doesn't feel 100 percent, then we need to have him sit, and so I think that that is something that we've all talked about, and [that's] why he didn't come back in [against Indiana]," Stevens added.

It remains unclear with regards to the extent of Irving’s injury and the number of games he will miss, while Brown, who has entered the league’s concussion protocol after his fall is also out indefinitely. Horford, who was down with fever ahead of the game against the Pacers, could return for their clash against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday this week.