Rockets' Jones still can't open eye; McHale unsure when he'll return

Terrence Jones will miss his third consecutive contest for the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night as he continues to heal from a gash around his right eye, and his return to the court is looking increasingly distant.

Jones - who suffered the injury last Friday against the Golden State Warriors - reportedly has a cut on the inside of his eyelid. According to Rockets head coach Kevin McHale, the stitches Jones got for the cut were irritating his eye, and he had some removed on Wednesday. McHale isn't sure when Jones will return to the court, and adds that the eye remains swollen shut.

After a season in which he missed 59 games due to a variety of ailments - namely, nerve damage in his leg - this isn't the way Jones would've liked to begin the 2015-16 campaign, which will be the most important of his career.

The fourth-year power forward failed to reach an agreement with the Rockets on an extension before the Nov. 2 deadline, and will be a restricted free agent at season's end.