PLAYA VISTA – The LA Clippers practiced for the second time this week ahead of their matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, and a familiar face in the form of Paul George was back with them.

George participated in Thursday's practice as per the next steps in his rehab, the Clippers announced. It was the first time the star forward participated in practice since December 6th, when he suffered the elbow injury in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

His status for Friday's game against the Sixers remains unchanged, however, as he will remain out.

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said Paul George participated in a limited contact four-on-four workout with the coaching staff on Saturday, and is continuing to progress well without feeling any pain in the right elbow.

“We don’t know yet [about his return], but he is doing good,” Lue said of George. “Like I said, he hasn’t felt any pain, so that is a positive thing. Just working on his conditioning and just making sure he can continue to go through the minimal contact without having any issue. So as of right now, it hasn’t been a problem.”

Here's what Tyronn Lue had to say about Paul George a few days ago ahead of Clippers practice on Monday.

“He’s feeling better. Yeah that is part of his rehab, having minimal contact with the coaches and trying to get his wind and just kind of see how he feels. To get him on the court for the first time was really good to see, got to continue to keep working and see how he is feeling going forward.”

Since George was ruled out on Christmas Day, the Clippers have a record of 19-23. They've got just eight games remaining in the regular season, and the team is hoping to get Paul George and Norman Powell some playing time during the regular season to prepare for the play-in tournament and, hopefully, the playoffs.

In 26 appearances this season, Paul George averaged 24.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game on 42 percent shooting from the field.

In addition to Paul George, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said that Norman Powell has progressed to doing some light shooting. He had the walking boot removed last week, and has been slowly progressing towards a return as well, although there's still no timetable on his return.

On Wednesday, Norman Powell went on Twitter to publicly refute a report by Yahoo! Sports' NBA insider Chris Haynes.