According to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee, Kings forward/center Trey Lyles, who hurt his knee during the team’s victory over Milwaukee on Tuesday and was subsequently ruled out of Wednesday’s game, has an MCL sprain in his left knee. Lyles will be reevaluated after being out of the game for at least two weeks, the team announced.

Lyles is expected to miss at least eight more games, including Saturday’s matchup with New York, according to Anderson. Sasha Vezenkov, a rookie forward, will miss his fifteenth straight game on Saturday as well, but Anderson says the former MVP of the EuroLeague may be close to recovering from a sprained right ankle.Kevin Huerter is doubtful for Saturday’s game due to a right leg injury, which kept him out on Wednesday.

Lyles is an important backup for Sacramento, which is presently the sixth seed in the West after winning four of its last five games. With an average of 7.1 PPG and 4.4 RPG on.450/.383/.698 shooting in 49 games (19.8 MPG), the 28-year-old is the main big man off the bench.

Backup centers Alex Len and JaVale McGee will probably have a chance to log rotational minutes with Lyles out. Vezenkov is another frontcourt alternative head coach Mike Brown might use, assuming he recovers soon.

Last summer, Lyles re-signed with the Kings for a $16 million, two-year contract. Next season, he will get $8 million until he becomes a free agent once more in 2025.