Khris Middleton has been ramping up his activity in practice of late ahead of his much-anticipated return from a lengthy injury spell. The All-Star swingman has been dealing with soreness in his right knee, and while there has been no timeline for his return, it does sound like Middleton should be back in the mix for the Bucks sooner rather than later.

That won't be on Saturday against the Miami Heat, though. Middleton has already been ruled out for that matchup with the 31-year-old now set to sit out his 15th straight game for Milwaukee.

The good news for the Bucks is that Middleton has been making good progress on his road to recovery. The 6-foot-7 small forward recently went through some 5-on-5 work in practice and he has since been assigned to the Wisconsin Herd of the G League to get more runs in. Milwaukee has refused to provide a firm timeline on his return, but it is clear that Middleton is now as close as he has ever been since going down with the injury in mid-December.

Serge Ibaka is also out of action for the Bucks due to personal reasons. The one-time NBA champ has been sidelined throughout Milwaukee's four-game road trip (including Miami on Saturday), and his next chance to return would be on Monday against the Indiana Pacers back in Milwaukee.

As of writing, the Heat have yet to submit their official injury report for Saturday night. However, given the injury crisis they have been dealing with of late, Miami is expected to have a lengthy list of injuries yet again.