NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons' absence will be extended to at least four games after he was ruled out of the next two with left knee soreness, acting head coach Jacque Vaughn said Thursday.

Vaughn, coaching the team following the ouster of Steve Nash, said Thursday after practice that Simmons has been getting treatment in hopes of reducing the swelling.

Vaughn said Simmons wouldn't play at Washington on Friday or at Charlotte on Saturday. He didn't rule out Simmons playing on Monday at Dallas in the final game of the trip.

Simmons, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, is returning to action after missing all of last season. He didn't play to begin the year in Philadelphia while addressing his mental health, then injured his back after being traded to Brooklyn in February in the deal headlined by James Harden.

Simmons eventually had surgery to repair a herniated disk. He averaged 6.2 points in Brooklyn's first six games before missing the past two.