The Los Angeles Lakers have unfortunately been without superstar Luka Doncic this postseason after he suffered a left hamstring strain at the end of the regular season.
The hope was that Doncic would be back at some point during the playoffs, but that is looking less likely now as he appears to still be three weeks away from a potential return. When speaking to the media for the first time since his injury, Doncic revealed what he is and isn’t able to do on the court right now.
“Yeah, I’m running. Right now I’m running, but I haven’t done any contact,” Doncic told reporters in Oklahoma City.
Doncic dealt with a less significant hamstring injury in January, so even though he is feeling good, he knows he cannot rush back.
“I’m feeling good. Obviously this is a different injury than I’ve ever had,” the 27-year-old said. “It’s my second time with the hamstring, but the first one was obviously way less at the end of January. So recovery has been a little bit longer. But I’m feeling good, working out every day and trying to come back.”
Doncic will be the face of the Lakers franchise for years to come, so they have to be cautious to ensure this doesn’t become a long-term issue. While that may be the case though, he is doing whatever he can to get back on the court as quickly as possible.
“I’m just doing everything I can, like I said, every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do… The doctors said eight weeks at the beginning of the first MRI. So I’m just going day by day and I feel better every day,” Doncic said.
Luka Doncic explains Spain hamstring treatment
After Doncic suffered the injury, he traveled to Spain to get a treatment that would hopefully expedite his return-to-play process. A lot of people wondered what he was doing there for so long, and he explained it on Wednesday.
“I went to Spain to do PRP,” Doncic said. “Obviously everybody knows that it’s one of the best countries to do that. And obviously we talked with the Lakers doctors, everybody agreed for me to go there. Obviously I know a lot of people in Spain that I used to work with before.
“But why I was in Spain so long was because I needed four days in between every shot. I did it four times, so that’s why I stayed longer.”
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