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Smart Says He'll Be Back Soon, But Will Likely Miss Sunday vs. Spurs

BOSTON (CBS) -- While there is no timetable on Marcus Smart's return from an ankle injury, the Celtics rookie feels like he'll be back very soon.

Smart sat out Friday's matinee against the Chicago Bulls, and said he will likely miss Sunday's game against the San Antonio Spurs. But the rookie feels like he is making progress and will be back sooner rather than later.

"You never know, some days I feel good, some days it doesn't," Smart told reporters prior to Friday's game. "I can't really give you an exact date of when I'll be back. I just know the way the progress is looking I'll be back soon."

Smart returned to the practice floor on Wednesday, but took himself out of the session when the ankle began to bother him. He was given Thursday off due to that tenderness, and had less swelling in the ankle come Friday morning.

"I woke up yesterday morning with a little bit of swelling in it, but it's going down, so that's always good," he said. "I'm putting a lot more pressure on it than I was a couple of weeks ago."

Smart said he is still experiencing some pain when he makes a cut on the floor, which is a very important part of the guard's game.

"The type of player I am, I need to be able to cut with comfortably," said Smart, who averaged 6.8 points and 1.2 assists in his five games played. "We're trying to make sure we can work those kinks out and get me able to cut right."

Smart suffered the injury, a severe sprain and bone bruise, back on November 7 against the Indiana Pacers when he awkwardly stepped on a defender's foot while driving at the basket. It was initially reported that he would miss 2-3 weeks, with Friday representing the three-week mark.

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