Jalen Brunson‘s sprained right ankle is expected to keep him sidelined until late March or early April, Shams Charania of ESPN said on Saturday on “NBA Countdown” 

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Knicks announced that Brunson would be reevaluated in two weeks after he suffered the injury while driving to the basket late in a March 6 game against the Lakers.

However, sources tell Charania that the sprain involves “more of a three- to four-week minimum return timeframe.”

“The key for the Knicks and Jalen Brunson is keeping that swelling down in that ankle, getting it lower, and then increasing the mobility in the ankle,” Charania said. “They know they need to get him right for the playoffs. That’s of the utmost importance.”

New York is managing to get by without Brunson, going 2-1 since the injury as a five-game road trip wraps up tonight at Golden State.

The Knicks appear locked into the third seed in the East — five games behind Boston and five games ahead of Milwaukee and Indiana — so there’s no need to rush Brunson back until his ankle is fully healed.

Brunson made his second straight All-Star appearance this year and is a strong contender to again earn All-NBA honors, although he’ll have to play four more times to reach the 65-game requirement.

He’s averaging 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night with a .490/.384/.825 shooting line.

Charania also touched on a mini-controversy this week involving Mikal Bridges and Tom Thibodeau. Bridges stated that he had talked to his coach about reducing the minutes for the starters, but Thibodeau denied that such a conversation ever took place.

Charania reports that Bridges and Thibodeau held a “closed-door meeting” before Wednesday’s game, which he described as a “productive” session in which both sides were “able to hash things out.” A source told Charania that the situation is now “history.”