Denver Nuggets star suffers obscure injury, return date uncertain

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will be sidelined for a period of time, after being injured on Christmas Day. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Gordon was attacked by a dog on the holiday and suffered lacerations to both his face and shooting hand.

"Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon suffered lacerations to his face and hand resulting from a dog bite on Christmas Day," Charania wrote in a post on X. "Team says he is in good condition and will remain away from the team while he recovers."

Charania added that the former Orlando Magic forward needed 21 stitches after the attack. Gordon will spend time away from the Nuggets while he recovers.

There was no indication of how long his recovery will take, only that there is no timetable.

The Denver Nuggets will miss Aaron Gordon as he recovers from his injury

Gordon has been a key contributor for the Nuggets since joining the team back in February of 2021. The former No. 4 overall draft pick helped the team climb to its first-ever NBA title last season, and has been one of their best defenders during his tenure.

So far in the 2023-24 campaign, No. 50 has averaged 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 52.5% from the field and 25.0% from beyond the arc.

He had been an important part of the team's recent 8-1 stretch. In each of his last nine appearances, Gordon managed to crack double digits in the scoring column, including his recent 16-point and 10-rebound outing on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors.

Gordon's time away could spell extra minutes for both Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. The two young players have been seeing a decent chunk of time off of Denver's bench this year, with Braun playing about 19.8 minutes per game while Watson plays 17.0. They've combined to average 14.3 points per game, giving the Nuggets some added scoring from the reserve group.

Denver will be back in action on Thursday night, when they host the Memphis Grizzlies at Ball Arena.