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The Los Angeles Lakers received good news Friday on the Larry Nance Jr. injury front. Nance Jr. has been cleared to return to practice by the medical staff, taking a big first step in his return from fracturing his hand.
The timetable on Nance Jr.’s return was projected as four-to-six weeks, suffering the injury against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 2. He had started in all eight games leading up to the injury, and has since been replaced by Kyle Kuzma.
Nance was averaging 10.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game. He’s also shooting an astounding 61.4 percent from the field, finishing in the paint at a tremendous rate.
A return to practice doesn’t mean Leaping Larry is all-the-way back just yet, so we’ll have to wait and see how things progress from this point. Its a positive thing to have Nance Jr. back working with the team, though, even if it’s just practice.