The Utah Jazz have been without a key starter in their frontcourt since the beginning of the regular season: starting center Jusuf Nurkic.

Nurkic has been recovering from a toe injury that he suffered during the Jazz's first preseason game of the year. That injury gave Nurkic an initial re-evaluation timeline of four weeks, thus keeping him out of the lineup until at least the start of November.

But as of Friday morning, the Jazz were able to provide a status update on Nurkic's recovery timeline, thus giving a bit more clarity as to when his official return will be expected.

And it turns out, the Jazz will have to wait a bit more time before they're able to see Nurkic back on the floor.

The Latest on Jusuf Nurkic's Injury

According to the Jazz, Nurkic will be re-evaluated in two weeks as he continues to rehab his lingering toe injury.

"Nurkić was re-evaluated by the Utah Jazz medical staff for a second toe injury of his right foot he sustained in the preseason game against Denver on Oct. 4. He is making progress and beginning to participate in on-court activities and will be re-evaluated in two weeks."

Jusuf Nurkić Injury Update:

Nurkić was re-evaluated by medical staff for a second toe injury of his right foot he sustained in the preseason game against Denver on Oct. 4. He is making progress and beginning to participate in on-court activities and will be re-evaluated in two… pic.twitter.com/dcTrjooLvW

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 6, 2026

That means, at the very least, Nurkic will be missing a total of six weeks and upwards of 15 regular-season games recovering from his preseason toe injury.

His next chance to return to the lineup will come towards the end of November, leaving the Jazz's big man rotation a bit depleted without both him and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the rotation for the next couple of weeks, at a bare minimum.

What Jusuf Nurkic's Extended Absence Means for Jazz

Being without Nurkic for any stretch of time makes for a notable hit to the Jazz's overall offensive ceiling, as well as their size, center depth, and rebounding ability in the frontcourt.

For the stretch that Nurkic was healthy with the Jazz last season, he put up some solid numbers on the stat sheet.

Nurkic was active for 41 total games, playing an average of a little over 26 minutes a night, where he put together 10.9 points on 50.3% shooting from the field, paired with 10.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.

He was an overall pleasant surprise for the Jazz's rotation throughout the stint that he played last year––so much so that Utah decided to extend him on a new two-year, $22 million deal right before the start of free agency.

However, it seems that the Jazz are going to have to continue waiting before they're able to see their offseason investment pay off.

That means, for the short-term future of the Jazz's center rotation, continue to expect Jaxson Hayes leading the way as Utah's primary starter at the five, with a combination of Tony Bradley, Mo Bamba, Kyle Filipowski, and even a bit of Lauri Markkanen to fill the minutes left from Nurkic's absence.

From the announcement of Nurkic's re-evaluation timeline, the Jazz have at least nine games to go without their starting center in the rotation: four at home, with five on the road. Three of those happen to be NBA Cup games.

Time will tell how successful Utah will end up being in climbing out of their 1-7 hole to start the season without him in the mix. But there's no doubt that the Jazz will be looking to clean things up in a hurry to make that turnaround happen sooner rather than later.