“Once I was hit, I knew it was either going to swell up or turn black. It was just a matter of time,” said Damian Lillard as he gave an immediate update after sustaining his recent eye injury. The pursuit of securing a 4 consecutive win gave an unexpected result to the team when the Bucks’ point guard was hit by Clint Capela in the 1 quarter. Now, Damian Lillard’s face visibly shows the aftermath of receiving the hit, affecting both his physical features and his vision. If his condition wasn’t already bad enough, an accidental mistake from the player’s side may have now worsened it.

The Bucks star spoke to the media after the recent matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. During the Q&A session, Damian Lillard was asked about the current condition of his eye. The player replied that he can see when he is sweating, or when he breathes a little too hard, you know. It doesn’t help that along with the eye injury, Lillard also sustained a “little cold”. After all, the runny nose was irritating the injured part of his face. Add all this to a shade of carelessness, and Lillard worsened his condition.

“I accidentally blew my nose, so it was like, you know, I think it might be a crack like in the sinus area,” the 34-year-old revealed. “So like that air going in there is like, you know, just tension in my face. I would say discomfort more than anything, like this eye is definitely better than this eye, but obviously, I can see good enough”.

If the accident had caused Lillard’s condition to worsen, then no one could have guessed it. After all, despite his left eye area still being visibly affected, Damian Lillard still played in the recent game. Furthermore, he was able to take full advantage of his on-court minutes by scoring 34 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. He went 11-15 (73.3%) with his field goals, 5-8 (62.5%) with his 3-pointers, and 7-7 (100%) with his free throws. This was certainly a big improvement from the 9-18 (50%) field goals and the 2-10 (20%) 3-pointers he made in the previous game when he was injured. This is a sign that the player is improving and not letting the ailment affect his on-court skills too much.

According to RotoWire, Damian Lillard’s eye contusion seemed to be a non-issue in the game. Therefore, the player is expected to remain with the first unit in the team’s upcoming home game against Orlando. Continuing to give an update on his condition, Lillard revealed how “when I first woke up, it wasn’t swollen shut, but it was just like, I don’t know, it felt like it was open. And then when I looked at myself in the mirror, it was like it wasn’t really open. So, I was just icing it”. Lillard also revealed that he wore some shades for a while as they took the pressure off of his eye. All in all, the setback of the sinus getting affected by sneezing isn’t too big to stop the player’s recovery.

The Bucks’ power forward’s injury will only make Doc Rivers more careful about him. After all, the last thing the head coach wants is a repeat of last year. When both Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo were absent in the playoffs due to injuries, things did not turn out well. Furthermore, Lillard has already had his fair share of injuries over the last couple of months.

What other injuries did Damian Lillard sustain this season?

Back in mid-November, Damian Lillard received a hit to the head in the 3 quarter against the Boston Celtics. He experienced headaches and dizziness due to it and was eventually diagnosed with a concussion protocol. The injury caused the player to miss 3 games. Later, in December, Lillard sustained a strained right calf, which caused him to miss an additional 4 games. The problem with the calf continued for an extended period. It even forced the player to miss the NBA Cup Finals. In the middle of the period, Lillard also sustained an illness. When it was believed that things couldn’t get worse than the left groin soreness the player developed back in early February, he then went down with a right hamstring soreness. It caused him to miss an additional 2 games.

All in all, Damian Lillard has missed 10 games this season due to his injuries. The last thing he, or his teammates, would want is for the player to be away from the court, especially when the Bucks are looking to retain their playoffs qualifying seed. Therefore, one hopes that Lillard does not get into any more ‘accidents’ that worsen his injuries.