Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green says he'll miss All-Star Game, aims to return in 3-4 weeks

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said he expects to be out for another three to four weeks with a lower-back disc injury that has sidelined him for 14 games, he said Thursday evening.

Green, who earned his fourth All-Star selection Thursday as a reserve for the Western Conference, also said he would sit out the festivities to rehab his back.

But he made it clear the timetable for his return isn't set in stone.

«I can't really put a definite timeline on it because at this point I'm just rehabbing and building strength and just letting my body heal,» Green said. «Ideally, I would love to be back in the next three to four weeks. But I can't guarantee that.

»When dealing with the back, the one thing I am not going to do is rush back. And if I'm not back in three weeks, that also doesn't mean that I'm not able to play. I want to return when I am 100 percent confident that I am healthy, that I am in great shape, because the reality is, I don't want to return not in somewhat of game shape."

Green said the injury initially appeared Jan. 8 when he was sitting at home, but was unaware that it was his back that was injured. He said he initially just felt soreness in his calf.

Green informed Warriors director of sports medicine Rick Celebrini about his calf. Celebrini put Green through a number of tests, which Green says he couldn't do. Green tried to go through warmups the next day — ahead of Klay Thompson's return against Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 9 — and immediately knew he wasn't going to be able to play.

But Green said he was still unaware that his back was the problem. That was revealed to him later that week when he underwent an MRI.

«When I replay everything from the beginning of that day, the