The Toronto Raptors can’t seem to catch a break with injuries this season. A total of 163 games have been missed by Raptors players due to injury, which ranks sixth in the league. Almost every key player on Toronto’s roster has missed at least 10 games this season, and just when it looks like the team is getting back to full health, another injury happens. 

This time around, the injury comes to Norman Powell, who after returning from a shoulder injury that had him sidelined for 11 games, is out indefinitely with a fractured hand. The Raptors announced on their Twitter account that Powell suffered a fracture to the fourth metacarpal of his left hand, and will be re-evaluated “as appropriate.” The injury happened in the fourth quarter of the Raptors’ game against the Detroit Pistons Friday night, although it’s unclear what caused the injury as Powell checked out of the game with 1:33 remaining and appeared to be fine.

The unfortunate part about all of this is that since Powell returned from his shoulder injury — which he also injured while playing in Detroit — he’s been on fire for Toronto. There was a five-game stretch where Powell was averaging 23.6 points on 59.2 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from deep. While the 20-point streak broke after an 18-point outing against the Philadelphia 76ers, Powell was shooting incredibly well from just about everywhere on the floor.

Powell has struggled with consistency throughout his career, but it finally looked like he was turning a corner and becoming someone the Raptors could rely upon when needed after returning from his shoulder injury. He’s fully embraced his bench role and it has shown dramatic results for the Raptors. Powell’s been having the best season of his five-year career, posting 15.3 points, on nearly 50 percent shooting from the field. 

He’s been the Raptors’ best 3-point shooter this year (40.1 percent), and a large reason why Toronto has the fifth-best 3-point shooting percentage in the league. Nick Nurse will have to get creative with his lineups, as Powell was by far the most productive player in Toronto’s second unit. While there’s no timetable for Powell’s return, the bright side of this injury is that the fracture is to his non-shooting hand, so it won’t have a ton of impact on his shooting when he returns. For now, though, the Raptors will have to weather on without Powell for the time being.