Carter, a guard from Notre Dame, underwent an MRI on Sunday morning that revealed a grade two MCL sprain that will keep him sidelined for six to 12 weeks. He left Salt Lake Community College's Lifetime Activities Events Center on crutches following Saturday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks.

"This is unfortunate because he did a good job for us," Jazz assistant Tyrone Corbin said. "We liked him because he has a good body, and it's unfortunate that he got hurt because he really did a good job for us."

Carter, who went undrafted out of college, was injured on an ugly collision with Leemire Goldwire, a rookie guard. Goldwire, who played excellent defense on Saturday night, had stripped Hawks point guard Acie Law IV of the ball. When he lunged, Goldwire did so right into Carter's knee, and Carter immediately dropped to the ground in pain.

Carter initially attempted to get up and walk the injury off, but he collapsed back onto the court.

Carter wasn't considered a prime candidate to make the Jazz roster, but the injury hurts his chances of being invited to training camp. It also hurts him in relation to being able to stick with another team or possibly going overseas.

In five minutes of action against the Hawks, Carter went 1-for-2 from the field, and scored two points. He had just hit his first jump shot when he went down with the injury.

"It's definitely a setback for him," Corbin said. "Him being here gave him an opportunity to show what he could do for us. Hopefully he can comeback before the summer is over and get a shot to come back to veteran camp, or get a shot to go overseas. Hopefully he stays in good shape while he's rehabbing his knee."

tjones@sltrib.com