The Los Angeles Lakers only have 21 regular season games remaining, and they may now have to play a significant number of them without LeBron James.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Monday that there is a fear James will miss an extended period of time with a right foot injury. Charania adds that the Lakers are bracing for his absence to last for multiple weeks.
The 38-year-old James had already been managing a foot injury for much of the season (albeit to his left foot). He then injured his right foot during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. After going down, James appeared to be saying, “I heard it pop.”
James was injured around the three-minute mark of the third quarter but remained in the game and played through it for roughly another 13 minutes (only taking a brief two-minute rest in the fourth before closing the game). While the Lakers won 111-108 in a epic come-from-behind victory, James was spotted walking with a pronounced limp after the game.
The former MVP had already been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against Memphis. With the Lakers 29-32 (12th in the West), they need to win every game possible right now. Unfortunately, James, who had already been severely struggling with his left foot, now has a bad injury to his right foot that threatens to end the team’s playoff hopes.
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