Cory Higgins remains out in Game 2 vs Zalgiris / News - Basketnews.com

Higgins has been battling back pain since the middle of March and has been sidelined since April 16th. Nikola Mirotic, meanwhile, will play full-strength as the ankle twist he had during the game turned out to be a false alarm.

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

FC Barcelona battled against Zalgiris Kaunas in Game 1 of the EuroLeague playoffs on Wednesday without one of their highest-paid players on the roster. The unpleasant situation is set to continue for at least one more game.

Cory Higgins will not compete on the court on Friday. The Barca guard is still battling a back injury that has been bothering him since the middle of March.

Barca's head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius told the media during the pre-game press conference that the return timeline is currently unclear.

Although Higgins managed to play for several weeks, the issue returned again, and he's been sidelined since the April 16th El Clasico in the Spanish Liga Endesa against Real Madrid when he spent just 5 minutes on the court.

After missing a large part of the 2021-22 EuroLeague season, Higgins returned this year but didn't remind European fans of the player he used to be, averaging just 8.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists for 8.7 PIR in the EuroLeague.

Although Nikola Mirotic appeared to twist his ankle during one moment of the game on Wednesday, the superstar forward is ready to go. "He's walking full-strength like everybody else," Saras said.

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