Aaron Gordon remains away from the Nuggets while he recovers from a dog bite on Christmas that left him with lacerations to his face and hand, but Reggie Jackson says he’s been staying in contact with his teammate.

“I talked to my guy a little bit,” Jackson told DNVR on Thursday. “He’s still in high spirits.”

“Aaron’s still concerned about the team. He wants to be back with the group, but we just want what’s best for him.”

The Nuggets released a statement on December 27 regarding the Christmas night incident and that Gordon is in good condition. A report from Shams Charania said that Gordon’s wounds required 21 stitches.

Michael Malone said there’s currently no timetable for Gordon’s return.

“Right now it’s open-ended. We’re not going to put any pressure on him,” said Malone. “We need him to heal inside and out. Going through something like that is not something you come back from easily. That’s something where you have to heal from the physical, but you also have to heal from the mental and what you just went through.”

When asked by DNVR if Gordon has given any inkling of when he’ll return to the Nuggets’ lineup, Jackson said the team isn’t thinking about that.

“It’s not about that,” Jackson told DNVR. “Whenever he’s ready we’re going to welcome him back with open arms.”

“We want him to be mentally and physically good,” Jackson continued. “We definitely miss him. I miss talking to him.”

In Denver’s first game without Gordon, the Nuggets started second-year forward Peyton Watson in his place. Watson tallied 20 points (4-10 3FGs), 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the Nuggets’ 142-105 blowout win over the Grizzlies.

Malone said after the win that Denver’s initial plan wasn’t to start Watson on Thursday night but then insinuated that the Nuggets’ starting power forward job is probably his for now while Gordon remains out.

The Nuggets play their second game without Gordon tonight when they host the Thunder at Ball Arena.