Cole Swider diagnosed with navicular stress reaction in foot, to be reevaluated in four weeks

One of the bright spots of Summer League and preseason for the Lakers, Cole Swider will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. On Monday, the Lakers announced that Swider was diagnosed with a navicular stress reaction in his right foot and would be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Swider — who is on a two-way contract — has only appeared in one game for the Lakers so far this regular season, subbing in for the final two minutes of the blowout loss to the Warriors on Opening Night. During the summer, Swider was one of the biggest standouts for the Lakers, appearing in eight games where he shot 28-53 from the 3-point line, a sizzling 52.8%.

In the preseason, Swider came down to Earth, shooting just 9-37 from beyond the arc while playing in all six games. While he had his moments, Swider struggled in those preseason games, leading to his lack of appearances in the regular season.

More importantly, though, is that Swider will miss the start of the South Bay Lakers season as well. The G League is set to start on Nov. 5 and Swider’s injury will keep him out for at least the first eight games before even being reevaluated.

In the past, a number of noteworthy players have suffered navicular stress reactions, including Marc and Pau Gasol, Joel Embiid and Bol Bol while at Oregon. The return dates have varied depending on how much teams were tanking. But Marc Gasol, for example, suffered his injury on Feb. 8, 2016 and never played again despite the Grizzlies making the playoffs and playing until the end of April.

It’s not encouraging news for Swider, who could have potentially made an impact for the Lakers with how shooting deprived they are. For now, the focus will be getting Swider back on the court this season and potentially making an impact later in the season.

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