TORONTO, Ont. – The Toronto Raptors will face a tricky test when they open their exhibition slate against Real Madrid Monday night, as they will be without their two star off-season acquisitions.

Rookie centre Jonas Valanciunas and point guard Kyle Lowry will not be in the lineup when they face the top Spanish squad.

The Lithuanian big man injured his calf a couple of weeks ago and has yet to be cleared for contact in practice, although he is slowly getting healthier.

“He didn’t go through contact, but he went through all the other drills and everything,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey told the Toronto Sun.

Lowry has been held out of the last couple of practices due to a leg injury.

“I’d much rather he be 100 per cent than be sore, then pull something or whatever,” Casey said.

The Spanish team has already been in action at home for a couple of weeks and kicked off their North American tour on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies held off the Spanish club by a score of 105-93.

The Raptors paid a visit to Real Madrid in 2007, where they fell short by a score of 104-103 so they cannot take this game lightly.

Casey believes it will provide a tough test for his team as they have barely had a chance to get acquainted, spending a week in Halifax to open training camp.

“They’re (Madrid) going to be on level 10 and we’re probably at five or six or something like that. They’re at a different level … and our guys are still kind of in training camp mode,” Casey told the Sun.

“(But) we want to come out and compete. Every time you walk on the court you’re trying to kick somebody’s butt and take it from that standpoint.”

The Madrid side will feature some high-level talent with former NBAers Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez on board as well as Nikola Mirotic, who was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 23rd pick in the 2011 NBA Draft but has since had his rights shipped to the Chicago Bulls.

It should be a fun challenge for Raptors point guard Jose Calderon who played with several members of the opposition at the London 2012 Games, including Fernandez and Rodriguez and Sergio Llull who took the summer tournament by storm.