LeBron James’ groin injury may be more serious than the Lakers originally thought.
The Los Angeles forward suffered the injury Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors, but an MRI showed no significant damage to James’ left groin. The Lakers expected the star to miss “a few” games, but it seems as if he’ll be sidelined longer than expected.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski, James “suffered a significant groin strain” and will miss “several games,” they reported, citing league sources. The two also noted the difficulty to put a timeframe on James’ return due to the fact he’s never had an injury like this before.
“A timeline for James’ return is further complicated by the fact that he has never had to navigate this severe of a groin injury and still needs to gain an understanding of how his body will respond to treatment,” Windhorst and Wojnarowski wrote. “James has displayed a tremendous capacity throughout his career to avoid extended absences with injury, but sources expected the Lakers and James will be careful not to risk further aggravation of the groin by returning too quickly.”
The 20-14 Lakers will be turning to Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma while James recovers. He was averaging 27.3 points and 8.3 rebounds before the injury.
