Danilo Gallinari darted in and out of the locker room in a sweatsuit, baseball cap and glasses Wednesday, the second full day after it was announced he suffered torn ligaments in his right ankle. The injury will keep him out at least until very late in the season.

A potential question: If, say, the Nuggets have just a handful of games remaining and Gallinari is ready to play, do they play him? Or would it be more prudent to shut him down completely?

“I’ve already thought about that. I don’t have an answer,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I think it’s a very good question. At that point, depending on where we are, it’s going to depend on four games to go, what is the picture? Are we 15 games out of the playoffs? Well, it probably makes sense to play some of our younger guys and let them get minutes and see what they can do. But we’ll see.”

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Gallinari could miss the entire month of March. If that’s the case, the Nuggets have just five games in April. As important a player as he is to the team going forward, would it be worth risking additional damage just to get him a few more games?

Gallinari may want to play. Malone said he’ll definitely consult the team’s leading scorer.

“That’s something that we’ll talk to Gallo about,” Malone said. “He deserves to be part of that conversation. He’s earned that with his play this year. He’s having a career year. The amount of respect that I have for him as a man and as a player, that’s something that we’ll talk about. But we will jump off that bridge head-first when we get there.”

Banged-up Nuggets. Kenneth Faried, Emmanuel Mudiay and Jameer Nelson were available to play Wednesday night, but they had to play through nagging ailments to do it. Faried has been dealing with a sore lower back. Mudiay has had tightness in his left ankle, and Nelson has been battling a sprained left wrist.

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Faried reported feeling good enough to play after going through a shootaround, and Mudiay didn’t even mention his injury, but their health is worth keeping an eye on in the team’s final 21 games.