Barkley Will Be Out at Least Two Weeks : Pro basketball: 76er star has slightly torn knee ligament. Bucks’ Dale Ellis may be out for the season.

As expected, the news was not good for Charles Barkley and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers’ All-Star forward will be out of action for at least two weeks because of a slightly torn knee ligament, the club said Monday after Barkley underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test.

The MRI confirmed Barkley suffered a second-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament when he bumped into teammate Rick Mahorn in the third period of Sunday’s 110-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The fall caused the sprain--considered a slight tear--that will keep Barkley sidelined until at least April 14, said team doctor Jack McPhilemy.

On that date, the 76ers are scheduled to play Minnesota. There would be four regular-season games after that, then the playoffs. The 76ers (40-32) have clinched a playoff berth.

If he returned on that day, he would have missed games against Milwaukee, Indiana, Chicago, New York, and Washington.

“It’s a minimum of two weeks--and I want to emphasize minimum--before we would even consider letting him get involved in basketball,” McPhilemy said.

Barkley remained on crutches when he arrived at practice for treatment Monday. According to 76er trainer Tony Harris, signs are positive so far for a recovery in time for the playoffs.

Barkley leads the 76ers in scoring (28.3 points per game) and rebounding (10.3).

Dale Ellis, acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks in a Feb. 16 trade with the Seattle SuperSonics, could be out for the rest of the season because of a back injury, the Bucks’ orthopedic consultant said.

“He’s got symptoms of a herniated disk,” Dr. David Haskell said.

Although all the results of medical tests were not yet in, “it certainly looks like he’s got the symptoms of a ruptured disk pinching a nerve in his back. Certainly, his status is in grave doubt as for the future this season.”

Buck Coach Del Harris said the team was considering signing forward Adrian Dantley as a free agent to fill the roster spot.

Ellis, acquired in a trade that sent Ricky Pierce to Seattle, injured his back in a game with Chicago on March 13.

The pain later subsided and he averaged 26.4 points a game in five games until being held to 13 in last Thursday night’s loss at Phoenix. Then he scored only five against Atlanta on Saturday.