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Before the season even started, the Lakers were dealt a pair of nearly simultaneous injury blows with both Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant forced to undergo surgeries on UCL tears in their thumbs, Bryant’s left and Schröder’s right. Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Clippers, head coach Darvin Ham provided an update on both of their statuses with neither set for an imminent return.
Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant were both evaluated today a few weeks since their respective thumb surgeries. Darvin Ham said they’re still a ways out from returning.
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) November 10, 2022
Darvin Ham said that Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant we’re re-evaluated by team doctors Wednesday, about 3 1/2 weeks after thumb surgery. Ham says there’s still a ramp-up process before they can be expected to play.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 10, 2022
Darvin Ham said Dennis Schröder (thumb) is continuing to progress, but still has to go through a ramp up process. There’s no official medical update or timetable for his return just yet, but one should come on both Schröder and Thomas Bryant in the next few days.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 10, 2022
The original timeline given for both injuries was 3-4 weeks and, as Dave McMenamin’s tweet notes, we’re right in the middle of that window. When Talen Horton-Tucker suffered a similar injury last year, he was ultimately out roughly five weeks.
No two injuries are the same but that gives a sense of the timeline the two could be working with. If they are cleared to begin on-court work, they still could be roughly a week and a half away from a return.
For the Lakers, getting them back as soon as possible will be big boosts to a team in need of any kind of spark right now. Schröder provides a level of ball-handling teams can always use while Bryant’s ability to stretch the floor is particularly useful. And given how little Damian Jones has played, the return of Bryant could not come soon enough.
The Lakers have a string of games in Los Angeles from Wednesday through Nov. 20. A three-game road trip then follows that takes them through Thanksgiving and into the weekend after.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
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