Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis suffered a stress injury in his right foot during a recent game against the Denver Nuggets.
The initial ruling was that he would be out at least one month.
In recent days, additional clarity has emerged on Davis’ injury and why, if it isn’t permitted to heal properly, it could keep him out for as long as eight months.
Davis detailed as much during a recent conversation with the media before his Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks this past week.
“I think the biggest thing is the stress reaction, though, just monitoring that,” he said.
“Because that can definitely lead to six, seven, eight months out — which I would rather take four weeks than seven months. I’m not saying I’ll be back in four weeks — but hopefully.”
That said, Davis does believe he is healing well at the moment.
“Feeling a lot better, pain has subsided tremendously,” Davis continued.
“I think the next step is [the foot] healing right now. I don’t want to use timetables because that’s a whole different thing, but it’s healing pretty quickly. So when we get back to L.A., we’ll do another image of the foot, and see how far it’s healed.”
Davis missed 42 games for L.A. last season and really made it a point that he was trying to be healthy this year. He worked on his body in the offseason. He minimized his partying (except for one epic Las Vegas trip.) And he has been putting a lot of work in at the gym.
Unfortunately, none of that has helped.
The photos speak for themselves. https://t.co/69D1YRHqTO
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 30, 2022
Davis is as talented as any player in the NBA today – but his durability has been and continues to be his Achilles heal.
The hope, obviously, is that he won’t have to miss eight months. But with him, can anyone really be confident that won’t happen?
Davis’ injury has understandably made the Lakers rethink their short-term trade plans for this season. Sometime soon, however, they will also need to think long-term and whether they can truly rely on Davis to guide the franchise into the future.
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