The star forward of the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis had a leg injury on February 14 in a match against Denver Nuggets.
After reevaluating Anthony Davis‘s injury, he will be out of the court for two more weeks.
In the second half of the game, Davis was driving past the Nuggets, the center for the Nuggets Nikola Jokic pressed himself against Anthony, which resulted in a foul for Jokic.
The collision seems to have caused his calf strain; Davis limped out of the court and returned for the free throw before limping out for good.
The LA Lakers lost the game to the Denver Nuggets by 122-105.
Not the first injury for Davis
In early February, he had already missed two matches due to Achilles tendonitis. He had been back for just two games before going back to the bench again.
Achilles tendinitis is a strain in the tissues that connect the muscle at the back of the lower leg to the heel bone.
It is prevalent among athletes and does heal quickly. However, if not cared for properly, could lead to severe issues.
After the match, Anthony Davis stated felt great being able to play again. Moreover, he said he was not worried but looking forward to the MRI reports just to be sure.
He had dealt with similar injuries before saying he knows what his body can and cannot handle.
With Achilles involved this time, he said he would be cautious to not lead to anything worse. Davis will do what he had done when he had tendonitis the first time.
Additionally increase the treatment up to five times a day from three-time, to have his tendons back in the place, and be back soon to help the team.
How long will Davis be out?
The MRI was done, and there were no signs of Achilles ruptures observed, but the tendon strain seems to have re-aggravated. Davis appears to be getting better, but not enough to get back in the game.
After evaluating his injury today, the doctors have reported that he is ready for the next step of the recovery and cleared for his subsequent return to play process, and might be back within two weeks.
He had already missed five matches of the season due to various other injuries (including the 2 with initial tendonitis), with 18 more on the line; he will miss 23 games of the season.
2021 Lakers without AD pic.twitter.com/hFwjvxsvlE
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 13, 2021
However, the duration might lengthen; the exact time is known only after reevaluating the injury later this month.
Upon initial examinations, doctors had predicted that he would be back within 4 weeks’ time.
What does this mean for the Lakers?
With their star on the bench, the defending champions have already lost 7 out of 10 matches between Feb 14 and Mar 7, 2021. The weeks ahead, too, do not seem to be much favorable. Davis will miss out on more than eight matches.
Even though the team would be more confident with their lead forward back on the game, they are not willing to take the risk.
The coach for the Lakers, Frank Vogel, made it clear that they will not bring Anthony back in until he is ready.
Anthony Davis on LeBron James: “I talk to [LeBron] a lot. He’s very successful on and off the floor” #AnthonyDavis #LeBronJames https://t.co/7XAgeAkt2O
— TalkBasket (@TalkBasket) March 10, 2021
LeBron James said, “For me, all I care about is health, I want him to be healthy. Our team needs him to be healthy.”
He then added,
“He’s got to make sure that he takes all the precautionary reasons, everything, do his due diligence on what is going on with his injury, and be right when he comes back.”
Sure, it is difficult for Anthony Davis too to sit back and watch his team struggle. Hence, he is going to make sure that he is completely healthy before going back in.
He said to the press, “Even though it’s hard to sit out and watch the team struggle and you want to get back on the floor and play. That’s why you have the medical staff and your team around you: To protect you from yourself.”
