Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr. suffers knee sprain

Just when Michael Porter Jr. thought he was ready to return to the court, the Nuggets youngster has experienced another setback.

Porter suffered a left knee sprain during a minicamp scrimmage Wednesday night and he's expected to miss Denver's Las Vegas Summer League games, according to The Denver Post, which cited unidentified sources.

Porter's injury isn't expected to be a long-term issue, but his debut will likely be postponed for precautionary reasons as Denver doesn't see any reason to rush him onto the court, the Post notes.

He is expected to be ready for training camp, but the Nuggets are "bummed" with this setback because he had been playing well in practice without any back issues, ESPN reported, citing an unidentified source.

Oh you were waiting for some MPJ highlights from tonight's scrimmage? We got you. ? pic.twitter.com/OufYmmZKGc

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) July 4, 2019

Porter was selected by the Nuggets with the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, but he missed all of last season after he had a second back surgery. He also was sidelined for all but three games during his lone season at Missouri before making the jump to the NBA.

Porter said he was cleared to play in May and had hopes of making his debut this summer.

“To be honest, going into the season, I didn’t really expect myself to be able to play at 100% if I was to come play,” Porter said (via The Post). “But, like, the way I feel now, it’s leaps and bounds beyond where I thought I’d be at this point. I feel so good … I feel like I’m a better player than I’ve ever been."

Porter, 21, likely will be on the sideline when the Nuggets open their summer league schedule against the Suns on Friday (11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).