Centre Jonas Valanciunas is closer to making his return to the Toronto Raptors.

twitter embed

The team made the announcement after Valanciunas met with Dr. Brent Graham at Toronto Western Hospital on Monday morning.

Valanciunas, 23, fractured the fourth metacarpal in his left hand in a November 20 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and has missed the last 15 games.

A native of Utena, Lithuania, Valanciunas is in his fourth National Basketball Association season after originally being drafted by the team with the fifth-overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

In the 14 games prior to his injury, Valanciunas averaged 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in 27.3 minutes a night.

The Raptors, 17-12, sit atop the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. They are next in action on Tuesday night when they host the Dallas Mavericks.