The Denver Nuggets were hoping shooting guard Will Barton would avoid surgery after sustaining a hip injury Saturday night at home against the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, that won't be the case.

According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Will Barton will undergo surgery Tuesday on his right hip and miss five-to-six weeks. This is a tough blow for the Nuggets, who have started the season 3-0.

Will Barton signed a four-year, $54 million deal with the Nuggets in July. The 27-year-old is coming off a productive season with Denver in which he averaged 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 45.2 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from beyond the arc and 80.5 percent from the free-throw line.

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The high-flyer is one of the best microwave scorers in the league, and the Nuggets are going to miss his production in the starting lineup.

In Sunday's win over the Golden State Warriors, Denver started second-year swingman Torrey Craig in Barton's place. Craig finished with five points while shooting 2-of-5 from the floor.

The Nuggets look like they could legitimately compete for a 3 or 4 seed in the Western Conference right now. While they'll definitely miss Barton, the rest of the team should only continue to improve without him.