Los Angeles Lakers center Christian Wood has not seen the floor in over a month, when he suffered a knee injury that threatened to sideline him indefinitely. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham did not reveal much about Wood’s status over the last month since the injury, giving little clarity as to when he might be ready to go.
But with the 2023-24 season nearing an end — the Lakers have 13 games remaining on their schedule — injuries are starting to go from indefinite to season-ending. And the Lakers having several players on the mend have led to frequent questioning for updates from Ham. Of the Lakers injured players, Wood now arguably has the most difficult path to return this season.
Wood is reportedly undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee — the same injury as Gabe Vincent — that could threaten to keep him out for the remainder of the season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
ESPN Sources with @McTen: Los Angeles Lakers F Christian Wood will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks. The Lakers final regular season game is April 14. pic.twitter.com/4SVNc3qJO4
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 19, 2024
This being the same injury and procedure as Vincent may not bode well for Wood. Vincent had his surgery in late December and it’s still unclear in March if and when he’ll return to the floor. However, everyone is different, and the expectation is that Wood could miss several weeks.
At this point, there is no confirmation that this is a season-ending injury, but time may run out on Wood. The Lakers have three weeks and five days remaining in their regular season schedule from Tuesday. April 14 is their final regular season game and it would be a very quick return for Wood to be able to make it.
Perhaps if the Lakers manage to escape the Play-In Tournament, they can add a healthy Wood to the postseason roster. In the meantime though, Jaxson Hayes will continue to get significant minutes backing up Anthony Davis, and he has been playing well as of late.
Lakers’ Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt progressing as scheduled
Vincent’s return could be in the next week or so as the final step is for him to regain his conditioning. As for Vanderbilt, there was some initial concern that he would be forced to miss the remainder of the season but is reportedly trending upward toward a return.
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