It's been a tough year so far for Khris Middleton. The Milwaukee Bucks star has now missed four straight games with soreness in his right knee. This was after the three-time All-Star missed his team's first 20 games of the campaign as he recovered from offseason surgery on his wrist.

The good news for the Bucks is that Middleton now appears to be closing in on his return. In a recent interview, the 31-year-old revealed that he's making steady progress as he looks to come back into the fold for Milwaukee at the soonest possible time:

“I would say way better than I was last week when I stopped playing,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after practice. “A lot of swelling in my knee went down. Just taking it day-by-day. Just trying to make sure the next time I go back out there I’ll be out there for the long run.”

The Bucks have a huge matchup coming up against the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day. That's going to be a marquee matchup for the two top teams in the Eastern Conference at the moment. Milwaukee will be hoping to get Middleton back for that one, but it is also clear that they won't be forcing him back unless he's healthy.

Middleton also spoke out about the tough luck he's had this season so far. The 6-foot-7 swingman also revealed that he tried to play through an injury a few weeks back, which may not have been the best decision:

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“A couple of things that happened when I was playing that just built up over time,” Middleton said. “It just made other things worse, I guess. So, just having to deal with that stuff, trying to play through it and realizing that the only way for it to get back to myself and feel like my normal self was to get off it for a little bit of time. And not knowing it would take this long obviously, just taking it day-by-day like I said, trying to work my way back out on the court so it can be more of a long-term thing.”

It sounds like the Bucks are now going to take a very cautious approach in dealing with Middleton's multiple injuries. They need him for the long haul, and as he said, the only way for him to fully recover is to rest up and let his injuries heal.