Jalen Brunson's final status for Knicks vs. Clippers after re ...

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson is back to the sidelines after briefly returning on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings.

Brunson came off a two-game absence due to foot soreness and featured for the Knicks in their showdown with Sacramento. However, he lasted just 19 minutes in the contest and didn’t return in the second half, with the team announcing that he re-aggravated his injury.

Now, as a result of the latest setback, Brunson has been ruled out for Saturday’s meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN.

It remains to be seen how long Jalen Brunson will be sidelined because of the issue, but fans should not be surprised if the Knicks take a cautious approach and sit him out for multiple games. New York is in a good position in the East after staging a nine-game winning streak, propelling them to fifth in the conference with a 39-29 record.

The ‘Bockers are three and half games ahead of the seventh-seeded Miami Heat, so they can afford to give Brunson some time to rest. Besides, Immanuel Quickley did quite well in filling in for Brunson when he was sidelined, and so New York can rely on him once again.

For now, the Knicks need Brunson to get back to full health and be 100 percent once the postseason rolls on. If the team wants to compete with the top dogs in the East, they need the star guard to be at his best, that’s for sure.