Johnson to miss Minnesota game

The Hawks won’t have their captain and All-Star Joe Johnson when they face Minnesota Wednesday.

On the night they get starting center Al Horford back after a 12-game absence, the Hawks must deal with depleted ranks again.

Johnson missed the past two days of practice with what coach Mike Woodson described as “some sort of viral infection.” He listed him as day-to-day and Johnson did not travel with the team to Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Acie Law IV was in his hometown, Dallas, to be with his ailing grandfather. He also missed practice Monday and Tuesday but is expected to meet the team in Minnesota.

“We’ve got great timing, huh?” Woodson said with a half smile after his team wrapped up practice Tuesday at Philips Arena. “All we can do is go with what we’ve got and do whatever it takes to get out of there with a win.”

Toss in Thomas Gardner’s absence from practice with flu-like symptoms and Speedy Claxton’s season-long stint on the inactive list and that leaves the Hawks with just 12 players available for this two-game road trip. They play in Charlotte Friday.

“This is one of those all hands on deck moments,” Josh Smith said. “It happens, you know. Guys go down with injuries and guys get sick. It’s human nature and you can’t do anything about it other than doing your best to fill in where there’s a gap.”

There should be a huge gap where Johnson is concerned. He is the Hawks’ leader in scoring, assists, minutes played, field goals attempted and free throws attempted — all by wide margins.

Utility man Mo Evans is expected to start in place of Johnson. Woodson acknowledged that his bench rotation would be ramped up due to the constantly changing medical status of so many players.

“If nothing else, we should surprise some people who don’t quite know how to play us without Joe on the floor,” Woodson said, still trying to find a silver lining. “It just means our bench has to play a huge role for us this week. They have to be ready to go. And all of these guys are going to have to raise their game up until we get everybody back.”

It puts extra pressure on Horford, who will only have two full days of practice and a Wednesday morning shootaround before returning to game action for the first time in three weeks. He returns after suffering a bone bruise to his right knee.

“It’s going to be tough on all of us, not just me,” Horford said. “But with all the minutes that Joe plays and the energy we ask him to expend, I can imagine that his body needs the rest.

“And really, we’ve had to play without somebody pretty much all season long. It was Josh for 12 games early and then I missed these last 12 games and now we’ll be without Joe for however long it takes for him to get rested and back healthy. But that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”