The Portland Trail Blazers will be without a pair of key contributors for the immediate future.

Damian Lillard, who missed Tuesday's win over the Detroit Pistons due to lower abdominal tendinopathy, will be re-evaluated in 10 days while continuing to receive treatment, the team announced on Wednesday. Making matters worse, ascending third-year forward Nassir Little, who also missed Tuesday's game, will be re-assessed in one week after an MRI revealed the extent of his left ankle sprain.

Both absences come as somewhat of a surprise considering Lillard and Little were late scratches against the Pistons.

Lillard also sat out of Portland's blowout loss to the depleted Denver Nuggets on November 14th, resting his tender core muscles. The injury is the same one he's been dealing with for years, including over the summer with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics. Lillard admitted in early November that abdominal pain was affecting his play, then two weeks later lamented the reality that he'll have to continue managing the injury throughout the remainder of the regular season.

“At this point it’s just gonna be managing it,” Lillard said following a win over the Toronto Raptors. “This summer I rested a lot, took a lot of time. Did a lot of the training and the rehab stuff, foundation stuff. I’d been feeling really good, but obviously once you start playing so many games and the wear and tear of the season, you never know how that’s gonna go. That’s the frustrating part. It’s just gonna be day-to-day managing it and finding a way to stay on the floor.”

Little, meanwhile, sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of Monday's loss to the Utah Jazz. He's emerged as a nightly impact player off the bench this season, providing Portland with palpable energy and force every time he steps on the floor.

The Blazers, 11-11, are in the midst of a four-game homestand that includes matchups against the Boston Celtics and LA Clippers before ending on December 6th. There's a chance Little returns against the Clippers, but Portland will certainly be without Lillard for each of those games, not to mention a nationally-televised road tilt versus the Golden State Warriors on December 8th.