LeBron James to miss time with abdominal injury
LeBron James has had an increasingly difficult time staying healthy over the past few seasons, and the Los Angeles Lakers star will once again be sidelined for multiple games.
James has been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an abdominal injury. LeBron aggravated the injury during Tuesday’s win over the Houston Rockets, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports.
The Lakers have not given an official timeline for LeBron’s return, but McMenamin was told the team’s medical staff “wants to take their time” with the injury. James has already missed two of L.A.’s first eight games to start the year.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, LeBron will be held out for at least a week.
James will turn 37 next month. He suffered a high ankle sprain last season that cost him 20-plus games, and that injury may have lingered into this year.
LeBron is averaging 24.8 points per game this season, so he is still playing at a very high level. That said, his health is an obvious concern. The Lakers entered the season wanting to scale back his workload, but they’d prefer if injuries didn’t force them to do so.
