Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas gingerly walked into the Cavaliers locker room an hour before Sunday’s game. It had been decided the day before that he would not play because of lower back pain.
The game against the Bulls on Sunday won’t be the only one Ilgauskas will miss.
“I’ll be out for at least two weeks,” Ilgauskas said. He has suffered from lower back pain for most of the season and the pain finally came to a head Saturday.
“’ve been fighting it for the past two or three months, and it just got worse over the last few days,” Ilgauskas said. “I had a hard time getting out of the car [on Saturday]. Back pain is the [worst] pain there is.”
So instead of playing and gritting through the agony, Ilgauskas will use medication and rest. He wants to rest now and be pain-free later in the season.
“We still have a month and a half before the playoffs, and hopefully, I won’t have to deal with this,” Ilgauskas said. “Those games will mean a lot more.”
It could also mean a lot more to get some healthy bodies. Add Ilgauskas to the list of injuries that has plagued the Cavs all season. Daniel “Boobie” Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic could miss at least two more weeks with their injuries.
“It [stinks] because we can’t get the team together,” Ilgauskas said. “We’ve been taking turns in or out of the lineup because someone’s getting hurt. Hopefully, this is it.”
Source:Â Cleveland.Com