The Clippers delivered some decidedly less-than-merry news Saturday, when they reported that Paul George has suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

The seven-time All-Star “will rest and be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, at which point next steps will be determined,” the team said in a statement.

UCL tears are more common in baseball and often lead to Tommy John surgery, but the Clippers’ initial timeline for George’s recovery process is relatively in line with how much time other NBA players have missed with similar injuries.

George’s teammate, Nicolas Batum, missed a few more weeks when he experienced a similar injury when he playing for Charlotte in 2017-18. He sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament of his left elbow in a preseason game Oct. 4, 2017, and made his season debut Nov. 15, 13 games into the regular season.

After George was injured during a win at Portland on Dec. 6, he missed five consecutive games with what was referred to as a sprained elbow on his right arm – his shooting arm. But he returned to action Monday and played that night in a loss to to San Antonio and then again Wednesday in a win at Sacramento.

George wasn’t among the Clippers who addressed the media after Wednesday’s victory, but after his return Monday, when he logged 30 minutes and scored 25 points, George said he “felt fine. Felt fine tonight,” adding “biggest thing I was I didn’t exert myself. I just played within myself and let it flow.”

Asked whether the elbow injury might lead to him having to miss additional time, George said he didn’t know.

“I’m not sure. Not sure,” George said. “It took some hits today, couple stingers. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow, not sure it will be sore or not. See how it feels in the morning.”

The Clippers’ other perennial All-Star, Kawhi Leonard, remains sidelined as he works his way back from July surgery to repair a torn ACL. He’s been spotted shooting and the Clippers posted photos Friday of him working out, but there remains no public timetable for Leonard’s return.

On the grind. pic.twitter.com/xUdhjmCCZy

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 24, 2021

As the Clippers’ primary go-to guy, George began the season on a tear before his production leveled off some.

For the 10th time in his 11-plus NBA seasons, George was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Nov. 1 through Nov. 7. That week, he helped lead the team to a 4-0 record while averaging 26.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.8 steals – and eclipsing 14,500 career points.

For the season, George is lead the Clippers with 24.7 points, (a career-high) 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. His 7.1 rebounds per game rank second on the team behind center Ivica Zubac’s 7.9.

The Clippers – who have the third-toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, per tankathon.com – certainly will miss George’s contributions as they enter into an especially tough, road-heavy stretch of the season: Fourteen of their next 20 games through January will be away from Crypto.com Arena.

When the Clippers host Denver at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, they’ll also be without starters Marcus Morris Sr. and Reggie Jackson (health and safety) and without reserve center Isaiah Hartenstein (ankle), who will miss his third consecutive game. Shooting guard Luke Kennard is not listed on the team’s injury report after an ailing hip kept him from playing Wednesday.

Before his two-week absence this month, George – who dealt with bursitis in his shooting forearm throughout the 2017-18 season in Oklahoma City – had missed only one game (for rest, on Dec. 1 against Sacramento) out of 25 this season.

George missed most of the 2014-15 season recovering from the compound fracture in his left leg that he suffered during a Team USA scrimmage, a horrific injury that sidelined him for eight months. He also underwent surgery on both shoulders before joining the Clippers in 2019-20 that delayed his Clippers debut by 11 games.

But after signing a signed a four-year, $190 million extension before last season began, George appeared in 54 of the Clippers’ 72 regular-season games and logged heavy minutes in the playoffs, when he played 511, 64 more than the next closest playoff participant when the Clippers bowed out June 30, in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

In the Clippers’ final eight playoff games without Leonard last season, George averaged 29.6 points, 11 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

“When Kawhi went down, (George) had to take over, and he did,” Batum said the day after the season ended. “In a good way. In a big way. … The numbers don’t lie. He was amazing. He carried us, like in the last game in Phoenix after all those games (when George scored 41 points on 15-for-20 shooting), he has been unbelievable.

“I don’t really care what people say about that guy,” Batum added. “I think he redeemed himself and he showed that he’s a big-time player in this league, and he deserves all the praise in the world. I’m very happy for him that he could show the world who he is.”

The best plays from @Yg_Trece so far this season.

Cast your #NBAAllStar vote for your favorite Clippers up to 10x a day! https://t.co/A3opxLvEPQ pic.twitter.com/OO6prPFAvq

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 25, 2021

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NUGGETS (15-16) at CLIPPERS (17-15)

When: 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV: Bally Sports SoCal