Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina said he is making progress from an ankle injury he suffered last week but is still feeling some pain and unsure exactly when he will return.
The second-year guard, whose injury was changed to a left ankle sprain after the team initially ruled it a strain, ruled himself as "doubtful" for Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers.
"As a player and a competitor, you hate missing games," Ntilikina said, according to the New York Post's Greg Joyce. "You hate being on the side of the court and not being able to help your teammates. Obviously you're doing the job of cheering and giving advice as much as you can do on the side of the court, but you want to be on the court."
The 20-year-old Ntilikina, who has averaged six points and 2.5 assists in 35 games this season, said he hopes he could be back on the court for next week's game in London against the Washington Wizards, and while he is receiving treatment on a daily basis, he said he can still feel pain.
"Yeah, it's still here," Ntilikina said of the pain. "Now is the difficult part where you have to go through the last pains and stiffness. That's the goal for the next few days. We're going to see."
Ntilikina suffered the injury last Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers and has missed New York's last two games.
"I feel better every day and making improvements, so I'm happy about that," Ntilikina said. "I was able to do some workouts, drills where I was moving pretty good. We're going to see how it is the next few days, if it makes more improvements."
