Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki suffered a minor sprain to his left ankle Sunday in an exhibition game in Braunschweig, Germany.

The 7-footer is playing for Germany in the European championships, which begin Sept. 5 and will decide that continent's Olympic entrants.

He was trying to make a move at the offensive end against France and stepped on Florent Pietrus' foot. Nowitzki writhed in pain for a few moments on the court, but he was able to walk out of the building without the aid of crutches.

An MRI revealed no damage to the bones or ligaments in the ankle, and Nowitzki is scheduled to rejoin the German team later this week, although it is not certain how soon he will participate in games. The injury is not expected to affect Nowitzki's status for the European championships and poses no threat to his status with the Mavericks, who open training camp in late September, according to team officials.

"It's a mild sprain, sort of a seven to 10 day injury," said Donnie Nelson, Mavericks president of basketball operations. "He's already been up walking on it."