The Portland Trail Blazers announced on Tuesday that second-year guard Shaedon Sharpe, who has been out since mid-January with a core muscle injury that he ultimately had surgery to correct, will not return to play in any of the team's final four games of the season.

The Blazers said that Sharpe is continuing to make considerable progress as he has engaged in full contact workouts over the past week and is expected to be ready for next season.

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said that Sharpe initially suffered the core injury in November against the Cleveland Cavaliers after a stretch that saw Sharpe forced to play heavy minutes after fellow guards Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, and Malcolm Brogdon were all sidelined due to injury.

After seeing his production fall off in early December, Sharpe missed five games in the second half of the month to see if his body would respond to the time off.

After his return on New Year's Day, Sharpe continued to labor on the court for six games before being sidelined for a minimum of two weeks. The Blazers then announced that he would undergo surgery on Feb. 6.

There had been hope that Sharpe could return and get in a few games before the end of the regular season. On March 25, the Blazers assigned Sharpe to the Rip City Remix, the team's G League affiliate, as he continued to increase his workload.

In a season all about development, the team seemingly wanted to get the second-year guard as much court-time with fellow lottery pick Henderson as possible, even if it was at the end of the season with the Blazers long eliminated from playoff contention.

After working out briefly with the Remix, Sharpe joined the Blazers on their just completed seven-game road trip.

Now, Sharpe and the Blazers look to next year, where he will presumably start in a three-guard lineup alongside Henderson and leading scorer Anfernee Simons.

On the season, Sharpe made a significant leap over his rookie season, and validated belief that he is a, if not the, core piece of the team's rebuild.

Sharpe played in 32 games for the Blazers, starting 25, and averaged 15.9 points and five rebounds per game.