Recent signing Christian Wood, who is expected to start at center for the Houston Rockets this season, remains temporarily sidelined with what the team is listing as “left elbow pain.”

The 6-foot-10 big man will not play in Tuesday night’s home preseason game versus San Antonio, which is the third of four exhibitions for the Rockets this month. However, Wood said after Monday’s practice that the injury wasn’t a big concern, and he hopes to play in Thursday’s finale.

“It’s just something light, an abrasion, nothing crazy,” Wood told reporters. “Hopefully, I talked to the doctors, I could be back Thursday.”

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas had said on Friday that he hoped Wood would be cleared by Monday’s practice, but he turned out to only be a partial participant. In his absence, DeMarcus Cousins is starting at center.

The 2020-21 regular season begins on Wednesday, Dec. 23, and neither Wood nor the team has signaled any concern that the 25-year-old’s availability could be in jeopardy. It isn’t clear when or how the minor injury occurred, with Wood noting that it was discovered overnight. Since Wood is right-handed, it’s fortunate that this is not his shooting elbow.

Wood averaged 13.1 points (56.7% FG) and 6.3 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game in Detroit last season. He’s stepping into an expanded role as a starter in Houston, and the Rockets are hopeful of his continued development alongside playmakers like James Harden and John Wall.