Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar, who exited Tuesday’s game in the second quarter due to what the team referred to as a left knee sprain, will be out “for the foreseeable future,” head coach Michael Malone said on Thursday, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Cancar and the Nuggets are weighing potential treatment options for the knee injury, according to Malone, who said the ailment is “not necessarily” season-ending, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
“It could go a couple different ways. We’re still gathering information, letting the knee calm down a little bit,” Malone said. “So I don’t want to get doom and gloom. But he’s out for the foreseeable future.”
Asked if the decision will come down to a surgical vs. non-surgical approach, Malone replied, “I’m not gonna go into all the details, but some different options will be on the table for Vlatko, and we’ll try to educate him.” He added that the next steps for the 27-year-old will likely be determined within the next week.
While a sprained knee ligament typically results in at least a multi-week absence on its own, Cancar’s injury caused additional concern on Tuesday because it affected the same knee in which he tore an ACL last summer. That ACL tear caused him to miss the entire 2023/24 season.
Cancar re-signed with the Nuggets on a one-year, minimum-salary deal this past offseason. The Slovenian forward had appeared in just four games so far this season, having sat out six due to a sprained ankle and three as a DNP-CD. However, he logged double-digit minutes on Sunday for the first time this season and did so again on Tuesday before injuring his knee. Malone referred to Cancar’s play in those games with the second unit as “really, really effective.”
The Nuggets are already missing one frontcourt piece as a result of a significant injury. First-round pick DaRon Holmes sustained a season-ending Achilles tear during his Summer League debut in July.
