Trail Blazers forward Vit Krejci underwent surgery on Wednesday for a fracture in his left ankle and will be re-evaluated in eight weeks, the team announced on its Twitter feed.

Krejci suffered the injury a week ago against the Suns and was expected to miss significant time. The announcement on Wednesday provides more clarity on how long the recovery process, which will begin immediately, will take. Best-case scenario, given the timeline, is that Krejci can return shortly after the New Year begins.

The injury occurred in the third quarter as Krejci ran back on defense and attempted to take a charge against Suns forward Miles Bridges (Twitter video link). He took an awkward step before making contact with Bridges and fell to the floor clutching at his lower leg in obvious pain.

Injuries have been piling for the Blazers. Shaedon Sharpe underwent knee surgery in August and was ruled out for at least six months, while Ja Morant sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain two weeks ago and is expected to be on the shelf for at least four weeks.

A trade-deadline acquisition last season, Krejci averaged 7.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 19.2 minutes per game in 19 appearances off the bench for Portland down the stretch. He was off to a slow start this fall, contributing 2.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 1.1 APG in his first seven outings (10.3 MPG) while shooting 30.0% from the floor.

Krejci’s modest salary of $2,667,944 became guaranteed on opening night. The team holds an option on his non-guaranteed $3MM contract for 2027/28, a decision the front office will have to make by late June before free agency begins.