The Phoenix Suns are facing a tough challenge as they prepare for their rematch against the Miami Heat on Sunday, January 25, at the Mortgage Matchup Center. The team has announced that two of its key players, guards Devin Booker and Jalen Green, will be sidelined for the game. This absence could significantly impact the team’s strategy and performance.

Devin Booker is dealing with a right ankle sprain, and the team has scheduled a re-evaluation for a week from now. During a pregame availability, Jordan Ott provided more details about Jalen Green’s situation, stating that he is day-to-day due to a right hamstring injury. Both players were injured during the Suns’ recent loss to the Atlanta Hawks on January 23, which ended a six-game road trip. The Suns fell 110-103 in that game, leaving them with a record of 27-18.

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Mark Williams, a key player for the Suns, expressed his disappointment following the loss. He said, “JG has done everything in his power, in his control, to be back on the floor. Stuff behind the scenes a lot of people don’t see. Hopefully it’s not serious, but it definitely sucks.”

Booker’s injury occurred late in the third quarter against the Hawks. He did not return to the game and left State Farm Arena using crutches. His absence was felt immediately, as he has been a crucial part of the team’s success this season.

“He’s been our guy, our literal No. 1,” Williams said. “Freak play, too.”

Green had his hamstring wrapped after the game, but seemed to be walking in the locker room as normal as one could considering he’s aggravated it multiple times since hurting it in training camp.

The Suns ruled him out at halftime of Friday’s game with precautionary right hamstring tightness.

“I assume he’s going to have some of that when you’re coming back,” Ott said after Friday’s game. “It feels a little different.”

Booker went down when he stepped on Onyeka Okongwu’s foot as he was running up the court with his head turned back away from the Hawks’ starting big man.

Immediately falling on the court, Booker stayed on the floor and needed help to the locker room with 5.4 seconds left in the third quarter.

He finished with 31 points in 28 minutes, scoring 16 in the third quarter as Phoenix came back from 11 points down to take a 91-84 lead going into the fourth.

“Book really figured it out in the third quarter,” Ott said. “Felt like he’s been doing so much for us all season long, and there he was in his flow. That’s the tough part about it, but I know he bounces back incredibly fast.”

Booker sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of a Jan. 13 loss against Miami (24-22) to begin the six-game road trip. Booker missed the next game, a loss against Detroit, but he returned Jan. 17 versus the New York Knicks.

He then played against Brooklyn and Philadelphia in a back-to-back as Phoenix won three consecutive games.

Booker is averaging a team-high 25.4 points and 6.2 assists. He’s missed just four games this season, and the Suns are 1-3 in his absence.

“It’s basketball,” Suns forward Dillon Brooks said after Friday’s game. “It happens. We’ll figure it out.”

As for Green, he checked out of Friday’s game with 2:21 left in the first quarter after scoring on a driving layup to pull the Suns within a point, forcing Atlanta to call a timeout.

Ott said Sunday Green actually tweaked the hamstring two possessions earlier on a shot as he was fouled on the play.

This was Green’s second game back after missing 33 consecutive games with a right hamstring injury. Coming off the bench, Green scored four points in just four minutes before exiting the game.

The Suns went 21-12 in those 33 games minus Green.

“It’s been something we’ve been dealing with all season,” Suns guard Jordan Goodwin said about injuries. “I think our mindset is still the same. We’ve been doing it all year. It’s time for other guys to step up.”

Green has played four games in his first season with the Suns.

The 23-year-old didn’t miss a game in his two previous seasons with the Rockets, but Friday’s game marked the third time he reinjured his right hamstring.

“Jalen worked every single day to get back to go out and play basketball,” Ott said. “And then basketball is taken away. It’s tough. It’s tough for his teammates. It’s tough for him, obviously.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns provide major injury updates on Jalen Green, Devin Booker