LeBron James’ window of opportunity to return before the end of the regular season may be fading.
Shams Charania of The Athletic appeared Monday on FanDuel TV and said that the Los Angeles Lakers star James may potentially be out with his foot injury beyond the expected three-week timetable.
“I don’t know if the Lakers think he’s gonna be back in three weeks,” said Charania. “I don’t think it will be just the three weeks, likely beyond that … You hope he’s back right before the playoffs or gets back for the play-in.”
The 38-year-old James injured his right foot on Feb. 26 against the Dallas Mavericks while planting for a layup attempt. James said at the time that he heard a “pop” in his foot but still played the equivalent of a full quarter after that (which may have exacerbated the injury).
The Lakers gave an official update on March 2, stating that James had a “right foot tendon injury” and would be re-evaluated in three weeks from that point.
That would put James at a return no earlier than March 23. But now the NBA insider Charania believes James will miss more time than that.
Though they have gotten a couple of quality wins in James’ absence, the Lakers are still only 31-34 and remain outside of the play-in tournament zone. Their regular season concludes on April 9, so it really looks like the Lakers will have to mount their push for the postseason without James.