Wizards third-year wing Bilal Coulibaly strained his right oblique on Tuesday night, the team announced Wednesday evening. He's likely to miss multiple weeks, according to The Athletic's Josh Robbins.

The team will treat the injury "conservatively" and provide an official timetable for return when available. the Wizards announced.

According to multiple reports, he sustained the injury during the third quarter on Tuesday night. He visibly revealed discomfort following an offensive possession. He battled through the discomfort for the remaining nine minutes he played, according to the team.

Coulibaly already missed nine games this season prior to the recent oblique strain, and the injury serves as a major blow to a struggling Washington defense.

The Wizards, 3-17, rank dead last in the NBA with a 122.4 defensive rating. Coulibaly's absence will not help their case.

The 21-year-old looked like himself defensively in his 12 games played.  In 27 minutes per game, Coulibaly logged 1.3 steals and 1 block per night. His recent shutdown defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo war arguably one of his best defensive performances of his young career.

Coulibaly's injury is just the latest news of a recent turn of luck in that department for Washington. In the last two weeks, the Wizards also lost Tre Johnson, Corey Kispert, and Sharife Cooper to multiple week injuries.

Additionally, the team's top offensive player in Alex Sarr will miss his third-straight game tonight with a right adductor strain. 

Head coach Brian Keefe said Sarr's injury was "nothing too serious " in his pregame availability on Monday, but since then, his injury description of soreness changed to a strain.

The injury rises greater concerns about Coulibaly's durability moving forward. He already missed eight games this season prior to the new injury.

Coulibaly missed the first four games of the season after receiving surgery on his right thumb due to an injury he sustained in the FIBA EuroBasket.

Coulibaly returned for four games before a calf strain sidelined him for the next four. Eight games later, he's back to the inactive list. 

Since his rookie campaign in 2023, the French product has battled plenty of injuries. This is the 12th time he's been listed with an injury.

Both his rookie and sophomore campaigns were cut short due to injuries. In 2023-2024, a right wrist fracture cut his season 15 games short. In 2024-2025, his hamstring kept him out the final 19 games.

The depleted Wizards return home to Capital One Arena tonight, where they'll take on the Boston Celtics at 7:00 p.m..