Kyrie Irving Out vs. Timberwolves with Eye Injury Suffered vs. Spurs

The Boston Celtics announced point guard Kyrie Irving will not play against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday because of right eye irritation.

Irving suffered the injury during Monday's 120-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs when guard Marco Belinelli hit him in the eye.

While Irving left the game briefly, he did play down the stretch.

According to ESPN.com's Michael C. Wright, Irving was sporting sunglasses while he addressed the media after Monday's game, and he provided an update on his condition: "I'm wearing sunglasses, so not too good. I'll be all right, though. [He] smacked the s--t out of me. He just caught me pretty good."

While the Celtics called his injury "right eye irritation," Irving said he suffered a scratched left cornea.

Irving finished Monday's game with 16 points and eight assists, but Boston fell for the second time in three contests.

After a knee injury ended his 2017-18 efforts early, Irving has bounced back, as he leads the Celtics with 23.1 points and 6.6 assists per game.

Without Irving, Boston will likely turn to Terry Rozier, who has primarily come off the bench. Rozier started during Boston's playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season and looked like a star, averaging 16.5 points, 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game during the postseason.

In 2018-19, he's averaging just 8.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest.

Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart also figure to have increased roles against the T-Wolves.

Boston enters Wednesday's game with a 21-15 record, which is good for fifth in the Eastern Conference.