Andrei Kirilenko received a third cortisone shot Monday but said he will require surgery if he doesn't feel improvement in his injured right ankle in the next two or three days.
Kirilenko will miss his fourth consecutive game for the Jazz when they host San Antonio tonight. He has been bothered by a bone fragment caught between the bones in his ankle and will need surgery at some point to remove it. The Jazz were hoping to put off the surgery until after the season. Kirilenko received a cortisone shot in December and was able to play for more than a month before the discomfort returned. A second cortisone shot last week did not produce the same result.
Kirilenko did not want to talk about a potential recovery timetable should he need surgery, though it is approximately three or four weeks.
"Let's not go there. Let's see how it feels right now," Kirilenko said. "If it doesn't help really, then we're going to have to think about surgery."
Trying to end a three-game losing streak, the Jazz will go with the same starting five, despite their recent first-quarter struggles. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said he made the decision with an eye on C.J. Miles' and Ronnie Brewer's continued development.
"We've discussed that, and I've discussed it and I've discussed it, and I think we'll still stay the same," Sloan said, adding, "I don't know how we change the minutes around and really see a drastic change."
Deron Williams said: "I think they got the message by that. Hopefully, they'll come out and respond to it tonight. We need both those guys playing at a high level right now for us to have a chance of winning."
rsiler@sltrib.com
