Batum knee injury

Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) is helped to the locker room after an apparent leg injury as The Portland Trail Blazers face the Denver Nuggets at the Moda Center.

(Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)

TUALATIN - The Portland Trail Blazers should have a familiar face back in the lineup on Friday against the Chicago Bulls.

Forward Nicolas Batum went through a full practice on Wednesday and said he should play against Chicago if he doesn't experience any set backs during practice on Thursday.

"I just get some rest and make sure my knee is 100 percent before I go back," Batum said. "I feel good today. (We have) one more practice tomorrow, but I should be good for Friday night."

Batum injured his knee late in the fourth quarter in a win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, Nov. 9, when he jumped to contest for a defensive rebound between teammate Robin Lopez and Denver center Timofey Mozgov. Batum said his right knee was kicked and twisted as he jumped between Lopez and Mozgov. He had to be helped off the floor, but a magnetic resonance imaging test revealed he did not sustain serious damage.

He received two Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections the Monday after injuring his knee. PRP injections involve extracting a patient's blood, running it through a centrifuge - which separates red blood cells from platelets - and re-injecting the resulting fluid into the injured area. On Wednesday, Batum confirmed that he received PRP injections and admitted he believed they helped speed up his recovery.

"The first two days (after the PRP) it kind of hurt because they inject new blood and it (has to) process," Batum said. "It hurt a little bit, but after that you can feel like you can recover quicker."

Batum said he didn't know if he would be on a minutes restriction in his return to the court adding that the team would not discuss his playing time until after Thursday's practice.

He practiced Sunday wearing a soft knee brace with hopes to return for Monday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans, but the Blazers medical staff did not clear him to play after going through a workout before the game. He said he did not wear a brace during Wednesday's practice.

Second year wing Allen Crabbe had replaced Batum in the starting lineup during the last four games, all of which were Portland victories. In four starts, Crabbe is averaging 5.0 points, 1.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds in just over 22 minutes.

Batum is averaging 9.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 33.7 minutes in seven games this season.

-- Mike Richman | @mikegrich