LOS ANGELES — If the Los Angeles Clippers are going to make a run at an NBA championship, they're going to need a healthy Paul George. Right now, that's looking like a major roadblock for the team.

Paul George made his return from a two-game absence due to soreness in his right foot, playing 32 minutes in the Clippers' loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. He struggled, however, shooting just 5-of-15 from the field for 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.

After the game, George revealed the foot soreness he'd been dealing with the last few days was related to the bone edema injury in his right toe that he was dealing with last month.

“It's better,” a seemingly somber George said postgame. “It is a day-to-day process but I’m doing better. It flared up again.”

George missed seven games for the Clippers from Feb. 5-17 while dealing with the bone edema in his right toe. The injury was given no timetable, but George returned rather quickly from an injury he said gave him a lot of discomfort.

Now, it's back, and it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon.

“We're trying to figure it out now,” George added. “Honestly, we’re trying to get on top of it now. Hasn’t seemed to go away yet. But at this point it is just managing the soreness and swelling.

“You play through what you can and what you can’t, you got to be smart about. If it was my way I wish I could be on the court and play all the games. But some days it is more sore than others and so you look ahead and plan ahead.”

George was visibly limited all night long and even missed a wide-open layup in transition, failing to get any lift on his attempt.

At this point, it's unclear what exactly the Clippers can do about George's injury. It's one that needs a lot of rest and recovery or it won't completely go away otherwise.

“It's just figuring it out,” George repeated. “It's really no pop on the right foot. I can't really bend my toe or have it flexing all the way on that second toe. It's just figuring it out. I gotta figure it out. Most importantly, if I can play, and play with minimal pain, that's what I'm going for. We gotta figure it out, though.”

Head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed that the Clippers attempted to limit George's minutes in his return, but it's clear the foot is bothering him.

George and the Clippers will get two consecutive days off for the first time in weeks before taking on the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon back at Staples Center.