The Los Angeles Lakers held their breath when Anthony Davis came up limping in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets. Davis was dealing with Achilles tendonosis and it appeared as though he may have aggravated it or even worse ruptured the tendon.
However, an MRI on Monday revealed that Davis had instead suffered a calf strain and will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks. A calf strain is probably the best-case scenario for Davis, who avoided what could have been a catastrophic injury.
But Los Angeles will now need to find ways to stay afloat while he is out of the lineup. The initial timeline for his return suggests he could return before the All-Star break, but head coach Frank Vogel noted that that does not seem to be in the team’s plans.
“He’s going to be re-evaluated when we get back, but it’s unlikely that we bring him back before the break,” Vogel said. “But we’ll see. Our doctors haven’t seen him yet. Certainly, we’re going to be cautious with this type of injury. We’ll see how he responds to treatment and re-evaluate in a couple weeks.”
The All-Star break is scheduled for March 5-10, which means Davis will likely miss a minimum of nine games. The Lakers were able to pick up a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but their upcoming schedule will be a true test as they face off against several playoff-caliber teams.
Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, added that his client will almost assuredly miss games beyond the re-evaluation period as he looks to rehab his calf.
While the team might struggle in the interim, they know they are playing for the playoffs and thus just need to tread water until Davis is back to full health.
Vogel relieved after hearing Davis injury diagnosis
Seeing Davis come up hobbling was a scary sight, so when the MRI results came back Vogel — like everyone else — was able to breath a huge sigh of relief.
“Obviously it was good news, so there was some relief involved there,” Vogel said. “All of our hope was that it wasn’t anything bigger. It sort of fell in line with what we were expecting and hoping for, but it’s certainly an uneasy time when you’re waiting for those results to come back.”
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