Suns star out at least four weeks with groin strain

After returning to Phoenix to undergo additional evaluation on his injured left leg, Suns guard Devin Booker has been diagnosed with a left groin strain and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

According to the team (Twitter link), Booker will be re-evaluated in four weeks, meaning he’ll be on the shelf until at least late January.

Booker initially missed a pair of games on Dec. 11 and 13 due to left hamstring tightness. He returned for two games, including a 58-point outburst against New Orleans on Dec. 17, then missed three more due to left groin soreness. He attempted to return on Christmas Day vs. Denver but only played about four minutes before reaggravating the injury.

Booker’s absence is the latest setback for a Suns team that has had some bad injury luck so far this season. Starting point guard Chris Paul missed 14 games in November and December due to a heel problem, starting forward Cameron Johnson has been out since Nov. 4 while rehabbing a knee injury, and key reserve Cameron Payne has been unavailable for Phoenix’s last seven games due to a foot issue.

Of course, the Suns have been without Jae Crowder all season as the front office looks to trade him. The club also has an open spot on its 15-man roster.

Playing without Booker will be the biggest challenge yet for the Suns, who are 2-4 this season without their leading scorer available (2-5 counting Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets), even after an impressive win over Memphis on Tuesday. Phoenix has a 20-15 overall record this season but could have a hard time keeping pace in the West with eight of its next 10 games on the road.

In 28 games entering Christmas Day, Booker had averaged 28.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 35.6 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .477/.370/.850.