Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo told NBA reporters on Friday (1/23) that he expects to miss the next four to six weeks.

Antetokounmpo suffered a right calf injury against the Denver Nuggets.

“After the MRI, they will tell me, probably, I popped something in my calf on my soleus or something,” Antetokounmpo said, via ESPN. “This is from my experience being around the NBA.”

Antetokounmpo appeared to suffer the injury in the first quarter and went to the locker room. He returned to the game wearing a wrap around his right calf and played through the injury before sitting out the final few minutes.

The Bucks lost to the Nuggets, dropping to 18-26 on the season. They are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

“I was feeling it majority of the game but did not want to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said. “But at the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop.”

The Bucks are 3-11 this season without Antetokounmpo. They will likely drop even further in the East standings moving forward without their best player.

Antetokounmpo has appeared in 30 games this season. He’s averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 64.5% from the field and 65.8% from the free-throw line.

“For me to stop playing and not be able to move? It was extremely painful,” Antetokounmpo said. “I was just trying to be out there, do whatever I could, try to affect the game in any way that I could. Passing, rebounding, just whatever I could. I feel like even sometimes when I’m at a disadvantage, I might still be effective. I’ve done it in the past. It’s not the first time, so I would just try to be out there and try to help my team whatever way possible.

“I’m going to work my butt off to come back. That will probably be the end of February, beginning of March. Hopefully the team will be in a place that we can at least make the play-in or make the playoffs and just take it day by day, try to get better.”

Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP, one-time Finals MVP, one-time Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time All-Star. If he wants to win another championship, Antetokounmpo will have to leave Milwaukee.

One of the greatest players in NBA history, Antetokounmpo is making $54.1 million this season. He has a player option worth $62.8 million for the 2027-28 season. The future Hall of Famer doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract.