Nuggets dealt another injury blow with Jonas Valanciunas out with calf strain

The injuries keep piling up for the Nuggets.

Denver big man Jonas Valanciunas is expected to miss at least four weeks after suffering a right calf strain during the Nuggets’ 106-103 win over the Raptors on Wednesday, the team announced Thursday.

Valanciunas, 33, was forced to limp off the court late in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game, and now joins a lengthy list of injured Nuggets players.

“They said it’s a calf strain. I don’t know how serious it is,” Nuggets head coach David Adelman told BasketNews. “We’re getting used to this. It seems every night someone has something. The cool thing about it is there is somebody else to get an opportunity from it, and that’s how we have to look at it.”

Four starters are currently sidelined in Denver, including three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who hyperextended his left knee during Monday’s loss to the Heat and will be reevaluated in a month.

Valanciunas, who was averaging 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds through 33 games with Denver this season, was expected to start in Jokic’s place before getting injured himself.

With both Jokic and Valanciunas hurt, the Nuggets will likely turn to rookie big man DaRon Holmes II or 2020 first-round pick Zeke Nnaji to fill the center position in the meantime.

The Nuggets are also without forwards Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Cameron Johnson (knee), as well as guard Christian Braun (ankle) — all of whom are mainstays in Denver’s starting lineup.

Jokic, who was averaging nearly 30 points while leading the NBA in rebounds and assists, is the largest blow for the Nuggets going forward.

Luckily, however, Denver avoided the worst circumstance regarding Jokic’s injury, as it was initially speculated that the seven-time All-Star could have torn his ACL, which would have certainly ended his season.

“Obviously, it’s part of the game,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray — who is also listed as day-to-day — told reporters following Denver’s loss to Miami on Monday. “But we never want to see it happen. … Next man up. We’ve got to focus on what’s in here.”