Starting Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Phoenix Suns in a bid to boost their championship series bid. The Bucks are hopeful that their star player Giannis Antetokounmpo could return from injury back in time to take the field against the Suns. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player had injured his left knee in game four against Atlanta Hawks.

The 26-year-old, who often plays as a power forward, hasn’t featured in the last two Bucks’ games. The Bucks beat the Hawks 118-107 on Saturday to win the series 4-2. After the match, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said that he was in conversation with the Greek star and was taking a ‘day-to-day’ update.

“You have to listen to the player and then you have to listen to the sports performance group, and at some point (Bucks general manager) Jon Horst and myself are part of the conversations, but it’s just a day-to-day thing,” Budenholzer said after the victory against Hawks.

He added that they would issue an update when appropriate. Budenholzer said that the conversations between him and the player were kind of private. “The conversations between he and myself, it’s kind of private and we’ll see where he is each day,” he said.

In the series-clinching win against Hawks, Khris Middleton made his presence felt, scoring 32 points. The victory took Bucks into their first NBA finals since 1974.

The Bucks’ coach said that he expected a similar performance from his side even in Antetokounmpo’s absence. Budenholzer also praised the Greek star’s enthusiasm even from the sidelines.

“To see that kind of leadership, that kind of connection and that kind of committment from a player you know would be dying to be out there — I just loved his energy on the bench.”