Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving will reportedly undergo a "minimally invasive" procedure on Saturday to alleviate irritation in his left knee, according to multiple reports. Irving, who turns 26 today, missed his fourth straight game on Tuesday and he obviously will not travel with the team as they kick off a four-game road trip in Portland tonight.
According to ESPN, Kyrie missed a total of five games this month due to knee soreness, which originally flared up during a loss to the Houston Rockets on March 3rd. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that a timetable on a return will come after the procedure on Saturday, but it is believed that the procedure will help alleviate soreness in the knee.
So far this season Irving is averaging 24.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 60 games for the Celtics, a team that is firmly planted in second place in the Eastern Conference. With 11 games remaining in the regular season, the C's are 4.5 games back of the Eastern Conference leading Toronto Raptors, and six games up on the third place Cleveland Cavaliers.