Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton has ruled his star forward LeBron James out of Wednesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

James, who suffered a groin strain in the third quarter of a Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors, will miss his fourth straight game since sustaining the injury, but will remain day-to-day, per Walton.

Some around the organization expect James' absence to be for longer than merely day-to-day, given the fragility of this kind of injury and the possibility of a setback if it's not allowed to fully heal.

The Lakers are 1-2 without their star player, who was one game shy of his personal record of straight appearances prior to suffering the injury, in what has been an ironman-like career for the 16th-year veteran.

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Second-year guard Josh Hart has mainly benefitted from James' absence, soaking up minutes in the 30s in recent games, including a 40-minute stint that saw him drop a season-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor against the Sacramento Kings right at the end of 2018.

The Lakers will play four games in the next six days, including two conference games on the road at the tail end of this crucial stint of the regular season.

Since James' injury, the Lakers have dropped from fourth place to seventh in the West, a direct result of the unforgiving nature of the Western Conference with spots four-through eight separated by a mere game's difference.