NBA: Stephen Curry gives injury return timeline; absolves Marcus Smart

Stephen Curry is hopeful of returning by the time the NBA postseason gets underway in April. The Golden State Warriors point guard suffered a sprained ligament on his left foot during a recent loss against the Boston Celtics.

The reigning NBA scoring champion sustained the injury while fighting for a loose ball on the sidelines. Celtics guard Marcus Smart made a lunge for the ball and landed on Curry's foot, which saw him leave the game in the second quarter.

Steve Kerr was not happy with Smart's challenge, and called him out for "dangerous play" during the game. The Celtics star made it clear that he had no intention of injuring Curry, and has now been absolved by the player himself.

"He made the play that he did, but I don't think it was malicious or dirty," Curry said, as quoted on ESPN. "He didn't try to hurt me. There's a certain way that he plays that I don't think many people would have made the play that he did. It was kind of just a tough situation."

Curry revealed that the injury is getting better by the day, but he is remaining patient with his recovery. The Warriors point guard is not keen to rush his return as he wants to ensure he is fully healed before getting back on the court.

"It was definitely painful at first. But it's getting better," Curry added. "Trying to assess the recovery in real time, just knowing how much we can push it on a day to day. I'm just trying to stay patient and know that it will continue to get better."

Warriors head coach Kerr, on the other hand, is looking to assess the rest of the squad's ability to function without their talisman in the coming weeks. He believes it will give him the chance to build plays for when Curry is not on the court during the playoffs.

"As far as the team is concerned, it will give us an opportunity to learn how to execute without him, which will come in handy during those minutes during the playoffs when he's off the floor," Kerr said, as quoted on NBC Sports. "If we can learn to execute a little bit better now, that will serve us well later."