Blazers Starter Al-Farouq Aminu to Miss 2-3 Weeks Due to Ankle Injury

Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu is expected to miss two to three weeks after suffering a sprained right ankle, according to NBA.com's Casey Holdahl.

Aminu left Thursday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers with the injury and was seen leaving the arena in a walking boot, per Mike Richman of the Oregonian.

The 27-year-old was out for close to a month last year due to a calf injury in November and was kept off the floor for a few games in December due to a back issue.

These types of ailments are rare for Aminu, who started all 82 games in 2015-16 and hadn't missed more than eight games in a single season of his career prior to 2016-17.

Aminu has been productive this season, averaging 9.4 points and a career-high 8.1 rebounds per game as the starting power forward.

While Aminu isn't one of Portland's best players, his perimeter defense makes him an invaluable member of the rotation, especially when he's on the floor with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, neither of whom excels on defense.

Losing Aminu for an extended stretch of games would be a tough blow for the Blazers as they look to return to the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.

While Aminu is on the shelf, look for Noah Vonleh, Ed Davis and rookie Caleb Swanigan to pick up the slack at power forward.