Andrei Kirilenko’s timetable to return to the Nets still is unclear.
“I feel awful,” Kirilenko told The Post about not being able to help his teammates on the court. “But what can I do?”
He can’t get on the floor, unfortunately for him and the Nets, managing just 51 minutes across four games this season.
Since going down with back spasms prior to a preseason game against the Pistons on Oct. 12, Kirilenko has been in and out of the lineup with one reoccurrence after another.
After missing the remainder of the preseason, as well as the season-opener, with his initial bout of back spasms, Kirilenko returned to play in the Nets’ home-opening win over the Heat. Then, after playing in a loss to Orlando and a win over Utah, he played the first half of the Nets’ overtime loss in Washington before his back seized up on him again.
He hasn’t played since. Kirilenko had an epidural while the Nets were on their West Coast trip almost three weeks ago. He told reporters on Nov. 21 that injection would keep him on the shelf for “10-12” days.
Kirilenko said he was preparing to play against the Pistons on Nov. 24. But after starting a brief workout prior to that game, he realized he couldn’t go.
“I felt fine at first,” he said. “But after five or six minutes, I jumped up and my back locked up.”
Kirilenko said his back now feels OK, but he doesn’t know when he’ll be back on the floor. He did, however, say it would take 3-5 days of activity to get him back to where he would be able to try to play.
“It’s just rehabbing his back,” coach Jason Kidd said Tuesday morning. “Again, we’re trying to bring guys back when they are 100 percent, not when they feel good or they’re in and out. That happened with [Kirilenko] once before, so we’re going to make sure he’s 100 percent.”