The Utah Jazz’s injury situation just took another hit, and this one lands hard.
Lauri Markkanen will be out at least a month after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his right hand, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The setback comes after Markkanen had already been working through trouble in the same hand area over the past couple of weeks.
Markkanen originally picked up a wrist strain in the same game Jaren Jackson Jr. went down with his MCL injury on October 26. At first, it looked manageable.
He missed one game, came back for four more, and then sat out Utah’s last two matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat. He was even listed as questionable for the Heat game before being ruled out.
Now the timeline is much longer than anyone expected. KSL Sports’ Chandler Holt reported that this injury is separate from the earlier wrist strain, even though it’s in the same hand.
“I’m told that the Lauri Markkanen injury is unrelated to the wrist strain; it just happens to be in the same hand.The fracture happened in the Dallas game, and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.#TakeNote | @kslsports”
A month on the shelf would push Markkanen’s return into early-to-mid December, which means he could miss at least a dozen regular season games, and possibly more.
Through eight games this season, Markkanen has averaged 18.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 38.9% from the field and 39.7% from three.
His absence only adds to a rotation that’s already been hammered. Utah is likely to be without four of its five usual starters for the foreseeable future. Jackson Jr. is still recovering from his MCL tear, Keyonte George just suffered an ankle sprain over the weekend that could keep him out for several games, and Jusuf Nurkic has yet to make his regular season debut while rehabbing a preseason foot injury.
That leaves the Jazz in a rough spot over the next few weeks, and the record shows how steep the climb already is. Utah is 1-10 through 11 games and sits among the league’s bottom five in both offensive and defensive rating.
For now, the Jazz will have to lean much more heavily on Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey, along with a mix of veteran and young depth pieces, while Markkanen waits out a frustrating recovery and Utah tries to keep its season from slipping even further.
In Other News...
Lauri Markkanen Injury Is The Last Thing This Jazz Team Needed
The Jazz were already trying to piece together a difficult start to the season when Lauri Markkanen went down again, this time after Fridays game against Dallas. Utah said he has two nondisplaced fractures in his right hand and will be reevaluated in four weeks, another frustrating setback for a team that has already spent too much time dealing with injuries and trying to find any kind of rhythm.
Markkanen had previously been sidelined with what was initially believed to be a sprained wrist, and the latest update only deepens the concern around a core player who has battled multiple injuries during his time in Utah. For a team already searching for traction, losing one of its most important scorers and frontcourt pieces adds another layer of uncertainty to a season that has not offered much relief. [Read more 🡒]
Jazz Get One Meaningful Pre-Game Question As Injuries Keep Piling Up
The injury list keeps growing around Utah, and the latest pregame update leaves the Jazz trying to piece together another lineup on the fly. Trey Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic are all out, another reminder of how thin the rotation has become as the season grinds on and availability keeps shifting from night to night.
There is at least one bit of movement worth watching before tipoff: Keyonte George is questionable after missing one game with a right ankle sprain. For a Jazz team already leaning hard on depth, any chance to get him back matters, especially with Markkanen now facing a longer absence and the offense needing someone to help steady the backcourt while the injuries keep piling up. [Read more 🡒]
Lauri Markkanen Injury Leaves Jazz Facing An Early Season Breaking Point
Lauri Markkanens latest injury has only deepened an already rough opening for Utah, with the forward now sidelined after a right hand issue that was first described as a wrist sprain. The update matters because Markkanen has been one of the few players the Jazz could count on for stability as they try to settle into the 2026-27 season, and losing him strips another layer from a roster already trying to find its footing.
The bigger concern for Utah is how quickly the injuries are piling up around him. Markkanen is now part of a growing list that has left the Jazz scrambling for answers in the early going, and the timing could hardly be worse for a team that has already spent much of the season in survival mode. How Utah manages the next stretch without him may say a lot about whether this start becomes a temporary stumble or something far more damaging. [Read more 🡒]