The Injury Diagnosis Is Reportedly In For LeBron James
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 01: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers leaves the court after their 107-99 win over the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on February 01, 2021. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly going to be without LeBron James for a while.
James, 36, suffered a high ankle sprain in his team's loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. He's not expected to return to the floor anytime soon, which is tough news for a Lakers team that has been without Anthony Davis since mid-February.
“Nothing angers and saddens me more than not being available to and for my teammates,” LeBron said about the injury. “I’m hurt inside and out right now. The road back from recovery begins now.”
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, LeBron is expected to miss several weeks due to the injury.
On Sunday, a sports doctor estimated that the earliest LeBron could return would be in roughly three weeks.
“These take at least three weeks [to heal]. That is the best-case scenario,” Dr. Jesse Morse said. “LeBron is a genetic freak in a good way, but this is not an injury you can come back from too quickly.”
The Lakers are near the top of the Western Conference standings, so they likely can afford to be without LeBron and Davis for a while. However, the team will clearly need them both back in order to make a run in the postseason.
