Jaren Jackson Jr. has a torn MCL in his right knee and will miss six to eight weeks, ESPN reported, citing Tim MacMahon and Shams Charania. The Jazz confirmed the diagnosis in an update on their two injured forwards. Per Hoops Rumors, which cited a tweet from Shreyas Laddha of The Salt Lake Tribune, the team said Jackson will be reevaluated in six weeks. So the six-to-eight-week range comes from the sourced reports, and the six-week checkpoint comes from the team.

Lauri Markkanen was hurt too. ESPN and Yahoo Sports both said he has a sprained wrist. Yahoo described him as day-to-day. Hoops Rumors said the team called the news on Markkanen more positive. Neither outlet gave a return date for him.

Jackson was injured Monday against his former team, the Grizzlies, according to Yahoo. In the 110-105 loss, our box score shows he played 10 minutes and scored 6 points on 2-of-5 shooting, with 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Markkanen played only 6 minutes and went 0-for-2 from the field, scoring 2 points on free throws. Neither finished the game as a meaningful contributor. The box score doesn't say when in the game either player was hurt.

Utah is 0-3 and on a three-game losing streak, in fifth place in the Northwest. Its losses are 123-103 at Memphis on Oct. 21, 132-123 to the Lakers on Oct. 25 and the one-possession-or-so loss to the Grizzlies on Monday. Jackson played in 74 games in 2025, so durability had not been the concern with him. Markkanen started all 42 games he appeared in during 2026 and averaged 34.4 minutes. Both are now out of the lineup together.

CBS Sports' Sam Quinn framed the injury around the Jazz's thin frontcourt. He wrote that it "stings even more" after the Walker Kessler move, and noted that Utah has played only four games but is already short of big men. ESPN made a similar point, saying Utah will be down two more of its bigs. Our data lists Kessler as a Laker. He has one game for Los Angeles this season, in which he played 30 minutes and went 12-for-12 from the field. The reporting we have doesn't detail the circumstances of the Kessler move, so we won't speculate on it.

The Jazz play next on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at home against San Antonio. Whether Markkanen plays is the first open question. Jackson's six-week reevaluation is the next fixed date on his timeline.