Ray Allen sidelined by sore ankle

Updated: March 26, 2012, 9:07 AM ET

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Celtics guard Ray Allen will miss the next two games due to a sore right ankle.

The ankle flared up at the end of an eight-game road trip, forcing him to sit out Friday's game in Philadelphia. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said the veteran shooting guard underwent an MRI Saturday, which was negative, but Allen will also miss Sunday's visit from Washington and Monday's trip to Charlotte.

More on the Celtics

Keep on top of the Green throughout the season with ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg. Blog

• Send Chris a question

Allen was originally pegged as a starter on the lineup card turned in before the game, but appears to be a late scratch. That seems to suggest the injury is truly a day-to-day situation, but by giving him this back-to-back off, the team can rest him until Wednesday's visit from Utah (allowing him six days off since his last activity Thursday in Milwaukee).

"The good news is I know he did an MRI (Saturday) and no one told me anything -- that's good news," said Rivers. "The fact that he had to do one is always a concern, but he was fine."

With Mickael Pietrus (concussion) out indefinitely, the Celtics are short-handed on the wing. Avery Bradley will play despite a sprained left ankle that kept him out of the second half of Friday's game in Philadelphia, while Marquis Daniels, Sasha Pavlovic, and rookie E'Twaun Moore can probably expect heightened action.

Rivers refuses to allow his team to feel bad for itself because of all the injuries it has endured.

"That's just the way life is, in anything," said Rivers. "Right now it's our team, but I tell our guys all the time, things don't go well all the time, what are you going to do? I tell them that we just keep playing and things will work out. I'm a big believer in that."