Utah Jazz C Jusuf Nurkic to Miss 4 Weeks With Foot Injury: What It Means

The Utah Jazz have only played a couple of preseason games thus far into their 2026-27 campaign, but it looks like they're already dealing with one noteworthy injury in their frontcourt before the regular season even starts.

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic will reportedly be sidelined for "at least" four weeks after suffering a partial plantar plate tear of his second toe in his right foot.

NEWS: Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkić will be sidelined for at least 4 weeks after suffering a partial plantar plate tear of second toe in right foot, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/4OGln9UHfl
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 7, 2026

Nurkic had played in the Jazz's first preseason game against the Nuggets over this weekend, but had wound up missing their second outing on Tuesday due to a foot injury.

And it turns out that foot injury is a bit more severe than some may have initially expected, effectively sidelining Nurkic for what looks to be around a month, and potentially even longer depending on how his recovery process goes.

What Jusuf Nurkic's New Absence Means for Jazz

After the Jazz had moved on from Walker Kessler earlier this offseason, it felt like a pretty reasonable expectation for Utah to slot Nurkic in as their day one starting center for this season, really in a largely similar role from what he saw last year when their frontcourt was depleted due to injury.

In the 41 games that Nurkic played, he averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, even starting in all but five of the games he appeared in because of the void Kessler left in the middle due to his season-ending shoulder injury.

Oct 4, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) fouls Denver Nuggets forward/center Zeke Nnaji (22) in the first half at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As a rebounder and a connecting piece offensively with his playmaking sense and ability as a screener, he was a valuable, underrated piece of the Jazz's frontcourt last year who's due for a considerable role once again for his second season in Utah.

However, instead of being able to kick the year off in that starting role he had throughout half of 2025-26, Nurkic is instead due to miss several games to begin the new season. So the Jazz will now have to pivot somewhere else for those starting duties.

Who's Going to Step Up for the Jazz at Center?

Two names stick out as the most likely candidates for that starting center job: Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jaxson Hayes.

In the event that Jackson Jr. is named the starting center, the Jazz would likely roll out their best five players on their roster in their first five on the floor. Jackson Jr. shifts down to the five, while Ace Bailey gets called up to the second unit. It's a group that simply banks on talent, yet might lack a bit of rebounding and frontcourt size.

Or the Jazz might roll with Hayes: someone who is more of a traditional center who's played well in his two preseason performances thus far, and can allow for Utah to have a similar starting five as they would with Nurkic, albeit without the same rebounding or offensive upside.

Regardless, it's a big hit to the Jazz's rotation before game one of the regular season even starts, and thus will hit head coach Will Hardy with a brand new challenge of how to approach their starting center right before a big season in Salt Lake City gets rolling.

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