The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Friday that the team has upgraded forward Serge Ibaka's injury status to day to day two days ahead of a huge Game 3 at home.
Sam Presti, the general manager and executive vice president of OKC, announced that Ibaka was no longer being completely ruled out for the rest of the playoffs after suffering a calf strain in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round.
"The abundance of blood and therefore swelling in Serge's calf has reduced substantially and unexpectedly, allowing a level of movement and stability not thought possible after the initial diagnosis," Presti said in a statement. "Based on both imaging and physical exam, the considerable swelling in the calf indicated the likelihood of a certain degree of injury, and that established the original time frame for recovery."
While Ibaka is now listed as day to day, Presti cautioned that he had yet to actually "complete a full basketball workout."
As previously reported, the team initially said that Ibaka would not be able to return for the remainder of the playoffs, even if the Thunder made it out of the next round, with a left calf strain, categorized as a Grade 2 strain to the plantaris.
The Thunder would definitely welcome the return of the team's best rebounder and defender after two disastrous games to start the Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Game 3 is on Sunday.