Anthony Davis suffers MCL sprain, out at least four weeks

Anthony Davis has suffered an MCL sprain in his left knee and will miss at least the next four weeks before being reevaluated by team doctors, the Los Angeles Lakers announced on Saturday. Davis suffered the injury in the team’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Davis had previously only missed three full games this season, but four weeks will likely cost him at least the next 13 games, and “reevaluation” implies that there is a chance he needs a few days to ramp up even after those four weeks are up. This is a tough, tough blow to the Lakers as they try to find any semblance of momentum and tread water during an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Our own Dr. Rajpal Brar broke down what this injury means in his latest video, and shared his initial reaction on Twitter below:

Davis sustained the injury with around six minutes left in the third quarter on Friday night, when Timberwolves wing Jaden McDaniels fell into Davis’ knee after being fouled by LeBron James, causing it to turn inward and leaving Davis unable to put much weight on it.

Davis was helped off of the floor, and a 3-point deficit at the time quickly turned into a 20-plus-point one as the Timberwolves pushed away for a 110-92 victory while the Lakers looked shellshocked.

After the game, the team had optimism the injury would be a minor one, but had to wait on the results of Davis’ Saturday MRI in Chicago to confirm.

“My concern is always for his health,” James said. “You wish for the best and leave it in the man above’s hands.”

“Hopefully it’s something minor and he can get back soon, but we’ll find out tomorrow,” added Lakers head coach Frank Vogel.

Davis had already been dealing with ongoing left knee soreness — the same knee McDaniels collided with — for several days, an injury that cost him two games earlier this week. It will now cost him a lot more.

For as long as Davis is out and Dwight Howard remains in health and safety protocols, the team’s options for traditional centers will be down to DeAndre Jordan and two-way player Jay Huff, an undrafted rookie.

This developing story may update with more information.

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