DeMarre Carroll is strangely ominous when discussing his own injury

Toronto's DeMarre Carroll missed nine game in a row during the month of December. After failing to reach expectations upon his return, health issues will reportedly sideline Carroll once again.

Carroll, who signed a 4-year, $60 million deal with the Raptors during the offseason, was inactive when Toronto played Cleveland on Monday night. The day prior, his defensive assignment (Chicago's Jimmy Butler) scored a record-high 40 points in the second half. In a recent interview, an obviously mentally frustrated Carroll told The Toronto Sun that if he were to play he'd be playing at 65%.

The real eye-catching moment in the interview, however, came when Carroll was asked what was ailing him the most. Carroll, who missed time in December due to plantar fasciitis and a knee injury, also missed three games in November. 

“I don’t want to say too much, but at the same time man, only if you knew, you know what I mean? Only if you knew. It’s one of those things,” said Carroll, in the report. “They didn’t give me a timeframe. They just told me I have to see some doctors and specialists and see where we go from there."

For Toronto fans, Carroll's self-diagnosis is concerning. Does he mean to say that the knee injury is worse than people realize? Or, as he suggests, is there more there that we aren't necessarily aware of yet? The Raptors are generally notoriously quiet when it comes to discussing injuries.  

Significant time out for Carroll would be bad news for an otherwise recently impressive squad.

Carroll is expected to make $13.6 million with the Raptors this season. Despite impressive stats and good odds to make the East All-Star team this year, Kyle Lowry ($12 million) and DeMar DeRozan ($9.5 million) both make less than Carroll. 

Bryan Kalbrosky produces digital content for FOXSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BryanKalbrosky for more.