Raptors forward Scottie Barnes expected to miss multiple weeks with sprained ankle

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes has a sprained right ankle, the team announced Wednesday. While the injury will be reassessed in a week and updated as necessary after that, he will likely miss multiple weeks of action. The Raptors did further testing on Tuesday to ensure the injury wasn’t more severe than they saw on Monday with an X-ray that came back negative.

Barnes suffered the injury on Monday in the team’s loss against the New York Knicks as he tried to defend Karl-Anthony Towns in the paint. Barnes was in immediate distress, initially helped by his teammates off the court before hopping through the tunnel and to the back of Scotiabank Arena. Barnes was limping notably in the locker room after the game, and was wearing a walking boot on Tuesday.

Barnes already missed 11 games this year due to a broken right orbital bone, suffered when Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokić hit Barnes with an inadvertent elbow. The Raptors went 2-9 in those games, although that stretch included a difficult five-game road trip.

Of note, this injury could make Barnes ineligible for inclusion on an All-NBA team, as he is seven missed games away from falling below the 65-game threshold necessary to be considered. Barnes signed a maximum-value rookie extension early in the offseason, with his salary starting at 25 percent of next year’s salary cap. It would bump up to 30 percent if he won MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or made an All-NBA team this year.

The Raptors have been rocked by injuries, with all of their starters except for Jakob Poeltl missing time. Immanuel Quickley has played in just two-and-a-half games, and there is still no timetable for his return for a partial tear to his ulnar collateral ligament suffered on Nov. 10. Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said on Monday that the point guard, who signed a five-year deal with the Raptors in the offseason, is due for more tests this week to assess his progress.

Reserve centre Kelly Olynyk made his season debut over the weekend after dealing with a back injury in the preseason, while Bruce Brown has yet to play as he recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery.

Barnes is averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 14 games this year.

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(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)