The Portland Trail Blazers have had a rough time since their All-Star point guard Damian Lillard went down with a groin injury, but they’ve finally received some good news regarding that situation. According to a report from Shams Charania of Stadium, Lillard is expected to make his return on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards. 

Lillard strained his right groin in the Blazers’ final game before the All-Star break, and was forced to sit out of the festivities — though he still did perform musically. He was expected to miss just three or four games, but his absence has stretched a bit longer, and the Blazers have been a mess without him. In the five games he’s missed, they’re just 1-4, with the lone victory coming in narrow fashion over the lowly Detroit Pistons. 

On Monday night, they’ll close out their current three-game road trip with a matchup against the Orlando Magic, but that will hopefully be their last game without their leader for a while. Lillard had been on a historic tear prior to his injury, and was arguably performing like the best player in the league during that stretch. In his past 21 games, he averaged 34 points per game and shot over 45 percent from behind the 3-point line. 

As the past few games have shown, Lillard was pretty much single-handedly responsible for any success the Blazers have had this season. After a trip to the Western Conference finals, they’ve been decimated with injuries, and check in at 26-35 heading into Monday’s slate of games. Still, because of the state of the playoff race in the West, they’re only 3.5 games back of the eighth seed, and not fully out of it just yet.