Nuggets dealt another injury blow when Jonas Valanciunas was out for several weeks

Injuries continue to pile 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.

The 33-year-old Valanciunas had to leave the field late in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game and now joins a long list of injured Nuggets players.

“They said it was a calf injury. I don’t know how serious it is,” Nuggets head coach David Adelman told BasketNews. “We’re getting used to it. It seems like every night someone has something. The nice thing about it is that there’s someone else who gets a chance at 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 in Monday’s loss to the Heat and will be reevaluated in a month.

Valanciunas, who averaged 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 33 games with Denver this season, was expected to start in place of Jokic before suffering an injury himself.

With both Jokic and Valanciunas injured, the Nuggets will likely turn to starting 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 averaged nearly 30 points while leading the NBA in rebounds and assists, is the biggest blow for the Nuggets going forward.

Fortunately, 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 certainly have ended his season.

“It’s obviously part of the game,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray – who is also listed as an everyday player – told reporters after Denver’s loss to Miami on Monday. “But we never want to see it happen. … Next man. We have to focus on what’s in here.”