Phoenix Suns Injury Report (March 5): Devin Booker and Jusuf Nurkic's status revealed 

The Phoenix Suns injury report seems concerning ahead of their primetime matchup against the defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. The Suns' injury report has five players, including starters Devin Booker and Jusuf Nurkic. Booker is ruled out with a right ankle sprain, while Nurkic is questionable due to right calf tightness.

The Suns will hope that Nurkic's available, especially against the six-foot-10 and taller frontcourt of the Nuggets. He has had decent success against reigning finals MVP Nikola Jokic. With Booker already out, the Suns can't afford a key role player like Nurkic to miss the game.

Joining Booker on the sidelines will be Nassir Little, Josh Okogie and Damion Lee. Little and Okogie are dealing with knee and abdominal injuries, while Lee is out indefinitely following meniscus surgery before the season.

Little's absence might not impact the Suns as much, but Okogie's might. He's one of the better perimeter defenders on Phoenix's roster and would have been impactful in trying to make life difficult for Jamal Murray.

The Suns will likely turn to Royce O'Neale to guard Murray on the perimeter in Okogie's absence.

Here's the Suns' injury report:

Player	Staus	Injury
Devin Booker	Out	Right ankle sprain
Damion Lee	Out	Right meniscus surgery
Nassir Little	Out	Left knee inflammation
Jusuf Nurkic	Questionable	Right calf tightness
Josh Okogie	Out	Lower abdominal strain

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When will Devin Booker return for the Phoenix Suns? Exploring possible timeline

Devin Booker is expected to be out for at least seven to 10 days after his recent ankle injury.

The Athletic's Shams Charania delivered the report on Monday. Booker injured himself during Saturday's 118-109 loss to the Houston Rockets. The Phoenix Suns star stepped on Royce O'Neal's foot while guarding Fred VanVleet on the perimeter with one minute left in the fourth quarter.

Booker was rushed to the locker room after grimacing in pain for a while. He didn't return and missed Sunday's 118-110 loss to the OKC Thunder. The Suns will miss his services against the defending champions Denver Nuggets, who are on a six-game winning streak.

The Phoenix Suns have struggled to keep the ball in control without Booker this year, who has primarily played point guard. Bradley Beal's injuries and Kevin Durant's workload at age 35 haven't allowed either of them to run the point efficiently in Booker's absence.

Amid its 2-4 run over the past six games, Phoenix is averaging 16.0 turnovers. The Suns had 22 turnovers against the OKC Thunder on Sunday without Devin Booker. Durant had no answers for the double teams the Thunder threw at him.

The Nuggets may not have to double Durant with options like Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. available to guard the 15-time NBA All-Star one-on-one.