Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas received a platelet-rich plasma injection Wednesday for a groin strain and said he will miss his second straight game on Friday against the Toronto Raptors.
Thomas ruled himself out Thursday afternoon while noting it's not easy for him to sit out again. Before missing Wednesday's game, Thomas had appeared in 103 consecutive regular-season games for the Celtics.
"I trust in those guys. They played a hell of a game [Wednesday]. They'll be ready [Friday]," Thomas told reporters during a Season of Giving Event at the team's practice facility. "I won't be playing [Friday]. But they'll be ready.
"I'm going to do whatever I can to get back out there on the court. It's eating me alive to not be able to participate, not to be able to play, but I gotta be smart about this because I don't want this to linger on for the rest of the season."
Thomas said that, if this were a playoff game, he would participate. But he noted the team is playing it safe early in the season and he remains day-to-day.
"I gotta do what's best for my body," he said.
Thomas, who injured his groin during the first half of Monday's loss to the Houston Rockets, flew back to Boston on Tuesday and missed the Celtics' 117-87 triumph in Orlando on Wednesday night.
Thomas had the injection into a thigh muscle, according to Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge.
"I think that it's just day-to-day. I mean, he is a warrior. He loves to play," Ainge said on Boston sports radio 98.5 The Sports Hub. "He'll be back faster than most players would be back after an injury."
The Celtics have a day off Saturday before opening a two-game road trip in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Boston has a two-day break before playing a nationally televised game on ESPN against San Antonio on Wednesday night. The Celtics could elect to give Thomas extended rest before he returns to game action.
Thomas, an All-Star last season, is the sixth Boston player to miss time due to injury this season. Boston utilized its sixth different starting lineup combination Wednesday against the Magic.
Thomas is averaging a career-best 26 points per game this season and is second in the East in scoring, only behind Toronto's DeMar DeRozan.
The Raptors sit atop the Atlantic Division, 1.5 games ahead of Boston, entering Thursday's action.