Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James is expected to be out for an indefinite period of time after suffering a high ankle sprain during Saturday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The injury occurred during the second quarter as players converged for a loose ball. As James bent over to grab the ball, Hawks forward Solomon Hill crashed into James’ planted right leg. The force caused James’ ankle to roll inward, and he crumpled to the ground in obvious pain. He eventually got up and even stayed in the game and hit a 3-pointer, but then he was subbed out before hobbling to the locker room. You can see a video of the injury below.
James underwent X-rays that came back negative for a fracture. A subsequent MRI revealed that James had suffered a high ankle sprain, and the team announced that he is “out indefinitely.”
When Will Lebron James Return From Injury?
This is a classic example of a high ankle sprain. His foot is dorsiflexed and externally rotated as force is applied to his planted leg. This leads to an injury to the ligaments of the syndesmosis (where the talus and tibia and fibula connect). These ligaments provide crucial stabilization to the ankle joint and the foot as a whole.
A high ankle sprain can be particularly troublesome because you need to make sure it has fully healed before you try to return to athletic activities. If you rush back, that stabilization may not yet be there, and this can put you at an increased risk for further ankle injury. This is why return to sport timelines for high ankle sprains are often measured in weeks and months, not days.
The indefinite timeline is a little murky, but for good reason. For starters, Lebron is in his 18th year in the league, and the four-time champion is the most important player to the Lakers’ success. They will certainly be able to coast into the playoffs, and having a healthy Lebron will be priority number as the playoffs begin. The Lakers won’t care about being the top seed in the Western Conference so long as their best player is back to full health.
Lebron has always been a machine when it comes to staying healthy. Over his first 17 years in the league, he’s averaged more than 74 games a season (they play 82 in the regular season, and that doesn’t even include his playoff mileage). He clearly knows how to protect his body, and we’d bet his body will respond well to the care he’ll provide it throughout his recovery. And while he’s not 25 years old anymore, he’s in better shape than almost all other 36-year-olds. He should still be able to bounce back with ease, it will just take time and physical therapy.
Given that Lebron and his team understands that there is no point to rushing back early, and because doing so could cause the sprain to linger, we expect all sides to be extremely cautious going forward. We’re not going to try to put a specific timeline on his return simply because we know that they are going to make sure he’s at full health before he steps back on the court for a regular season game. We will say this however. The NBA Playoffs start exactly two months from today. That means all sides will be doing everything they can to ensure Lebron is back to full health on May 22.
With that in mind, we expect him to miss a few weeks at minimum, and then the team will take it slow with his workload. He’ll have his minutes or rehab routine ramped up over the next two months so that he’s back to full speed and conditioning by May 22. We can’t forecast it exactly, but we know that Lebron will have May 22 circled on his calendar as the day he needs to be fully ready. We see no reason why he wouldn’t be. He has a title to defend.
We wish him the nest in his recovery.