Tyson Chandler, Kurt Thomas suffer setbacks; Carmelo Anthony better

Carmelo Anthony hopes to return to the Knicks Wednesday night while Kurt Thomas and Tyson Chandler suffered setbacks. (Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)

The injuries continue to pile up on the oldest team in NBA history.

Less than 24 hours after pulling off a win on the road against the Utah Jazz Monday night, the Knicks announced that All-Star center Tyson Chandler will be out for “about a week” and backup power forward-center Kurt Thomas, who played a season high 26 minutes against the Jazz, will be out for two to four weeks.

Chandler was initially dealing with a bruise in his left knee suffered last week in a road loss to the Denver Nuggets. He hasn’t played since that March 13 loss, but once the pain subsided, he appeared ready for a return to action. He expressed concern over the weekend about pain in his neck, and an MRI on Tuesday morning revealed that he had a bulging disc and will miss about a week, according to Al Iannazzone, Knicks beat reporter for Newsday.

Thomas, the oldest player in the NBA, has seen an increased role for the Knicks because of their thinning frontcourt. But now he will be added to the list of casualties as the 40-year-old center is expected to miss two to four weeks with a chronic stress fracture in his right foot.

The lone bright spot for the Knicks right now is that Carmelo Anthony hopes to return Wednesday night when New York host the Orlando Magic. Anthony had fluid from his knee drained last week and has been out since that March 13 loss against the Nuggets, his former team.

Despite all of the injuries, the Knicks are third in the Eastern Conference, one game up on the Brooklyn Nets.

Knicks say Tyson Chandler had a small bulging disc and will miss about a week.—
Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) March 19, 2013

Kurt Thomas has a stress reaction surrounding a chronic stress fracture in his right foot, the knicks say. He's out 2-4 weeks.—
Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) March 19, 2013

Carmelo Anthony says his knee is feeling much better, hopes to play tomorrow: newsday.com/sports/basketb… via @Newsday—
Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) March 19, 2013