CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is out of the walking boot, but he's not quite ready to get back into Cleveland's lineup.
Ilgauskas will miss Wednesday night's game in Minnesota with a sprained left ankle he injured last week in Philadelphia. On Tuesday, Ilgauskas said he's hoping to return to the practice floor on Thursday and maybe play in the Cavs' game in Denver on Friday.
Ilgauskas doesn't want to come back too quickly. He did that with a similar injury three years ago and missed more time.
"I didn't want to miss any games with this," said Ilgauskas, who has missed two games since getting hurt. "Then I woke up to reality. I'm not expecting miracles. It's going to be sore and stiff for a while but I want to play."
Ilgauskas missed nearly two full seasons with foot injuries earlier in his career. He has undergone numerous surgeries, including one to reconstruct his left foot. After he got hurt last week in Philadelphia, three doctors with the 76ers got his X-rays and were startled to see the number of plates and screws in his foot.
"(The team doctor) said, 'It's a miracle you're playing. What happened here?"' Ilgauskas said.
Replied Ilgauskas, "It's a long story."
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