Minnesota Timberwolves fans might have to wait a little longer to see star shooting guard Jimmy Butler back on the floor. According to the Timberwolves PR’s Twitter account, Butler is labeled as doubtful for Thursday’s road game against the Denver Nuggets.

The two-way guard has missed all of Minnesota’s last 16 games to recover from a meniscus surgery on his right knee back in February. It could be remembered that Jimmy Butler hurt his knee during Minnesota’s first game following the All-Star break against the Houston Rockets, and would later be required to go under the knife to fix the injury.

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The Timberwolves do not have a lot of luxury to rest their key players, as they are still not out of the woods in the Western Conference playoff picture. They head to the Nuggets game occupying the seventh place in the conference with a 44-34 record, but are just a game ahead of Denver, which is on the outside looking in. The Nuggets own a 43-35 slate, good for ninth in the West so far, while the L.A. Clippers are still alive with a 42-36 record. According to Playoffstatus.com, the Timberwolves have a seven percent chance of missing the playoffs.

Before going down with a knee injury, Jimmy Butler was averaging 22.2 points. 5.0 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game. His presence on both ends of the floor for the Timberwolves has been one of the biggest reasons why Minnesota is in line this season to make its first playoff appearance in 14 years.

If Butler will be ultimately ruled out for the Denver game, his next chance to return will be on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.