Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James injured his right foot in Sunday’s comeback victory over the Dallas Mavericks, stepping on Dwight Powell’s foot late.
While James was able to finish out the game, he admitted after that his foot was feeling a little sore although given the importance of the contest, he was not going to come out.
When the Lakers released their injury report for Tuesday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, James was already ruled out due to the injury. The hope was that sitting out one game would be enough and he would be able to return against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second of the back-to-back on Wednesday.
It does not appear that will be the case those as according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, James’ injury could cause him to miss an extended period of time:
James miraculously played through the injury that is now expected to require multiple opinions, sources said, and the Lakers are bracing for his absence to be multiple weeks. https://t.co/zuovQ2wVzc
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 28, 2023
This certainly isn’t ideal for a Lakers team that is fighting to get back in postseason contention with only 21 games left in the regular season.
Things have been clicking for L.A. since the trade deadline with the team winning four of its last five games. There is a lot more depth in place now than there was previously to make up for James’ absence, but obviously the Lakers’ championship hopes would dissipate if LeBron is not healthy for the postseason.
It remains to be seen how long he will be out, but there’s no doubt James will do everything in his power to get back on the court with his teammates as soon as possible. He has been dealing with foot ailments all season though so L.A. will need to be careful to ensure he is 100% healthy before returning.
Russell doubtful for Grizzlies game
LeBron is not the only player the Lakers will be without on Tuesday against the Grizzlies as D’Angelo Russell is listed as doubtful with a right ankle sprain of his own.
His injury doesn’t seem to be as bad as James’ so hopefully he is back sooner rather than later to resume primary ball-handling duties in LeBron’s absence.
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