Don’t expect Carmelo Anthony back in uniform for the Denver Nuggets’ Western Conference showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Anthony told Yahoo! Sports late Wednesday that his sprained left ankle will likely force him to miss at least the next two games.

Anthony missed his sixth straight game Wednesday when the Nuggets lost to the Phoenix Suns and hasn’t played since injuring his ankle Jan. 23 against New Orleans. He plans on attending Denver’s two-game road trip against the Lakers and Utah Jazz in case he heals faster than expected, but he’s more hopeful about returning to face the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

Rex Chapman, the Nuggets’ vice president of player personnel, said it was evident upon watching video of the Jan. 23 game that Anthony injured his ankle worse than initially thought.

“None of us really saw it when it happened, but looking at it on video, he really turned that thing over,” Chapman said. “Initially, we thought it might be a couple games. He worked out really hard yesterday with [assistant coach] John Welch, but even John said, ‘Hey, he can’t explode.’ “

“We’re not kidding anybody. We need ’Melo to be the best that he can be. This is something that makes no sense to rush in February.”