All-star forward Scottie Barnes is out with a fractured right orbital bone.
The Toronto Raptors say Barnes’s injury will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Barnes took an elbow to his eye from Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter in Monday’s game.
Denver scored at the other end of the court as Barnes dropped to his knees in pain.
The Nuggets went on to complete the comeback with a 127-125 overtime win over the Raptors.
WATCH | Raptors secure core young pieces in Barnes, Quickley:
The Toronto Raptors signed Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley to multi-year contract extensions on Monday, locking up the team’s young core for at least the next three seasons. CBC’s Greg Ross has more.
Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic would not say who will start for Barnes in Wednesday night’s game at the Charlotte Hornets.
“I feel bad for Scottie because has put a lot of work in and he was just starting to find the rhythm and he was playing really well,” Rajakovic said. “This is going to be tough playing without him.”
Rajakovic said he’s hoping Ochai Agbaji and Jonathan Mogbo can help fill the void.
He was named to his first all-star team last campaign behind career highs of 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
Barnes broke a finger against the Golden State Warriors on March 1 and missed the rest of the season after he had surgery to repair it.
Toronto has had to deal with numerous significant injuries early in 2024-25. Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley missed his third game Monday after sustaining a right pelvic contusion in Toronto’s season opener.
Guard Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder), forward Bruce Brown (knee) and centre Kelly Olynyk (back) have yet to suit up.
Swingman RJ Barrett returned Monday after missing the first three games of the season with a sprained shoulder.
