Well, the Lakers are in real trouble now! Injuries keep mounting for their best player on the floor, Anthony Davis. Amid the confusion regarding the starting lineup, rookie coach JJ Redick has a new trouble awaiting in the back door. A few days ago, Shams Charania revealed the “nagging” heel injury that has been bothering the big man for a long time. Now, the superstar center suffered the same eye injury from the last season.

During tonight’s win over the Toronto Raptors, Anthony Davis had his eye poked while blocking Jakob Poeltl’s dunk. While the crowd cheered for AD’s one-handed block, the fans didn’t notice Poeltl’s other hand, which was all over Davis’ face. The big man was down on the floor, withering in excruciating pain. After almost a minute, the superstar got up and walked to the locker room. Later, the team announced he was ruled out for the rest of the game, citing the left eye injury.

Following that, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin dropped a crucial update stating that Anthony Davis suffered a corneal abrasion to the same eye in the last season in March. So, let’s find out how many games AD missed due to the eye injury in the 2023-24 season.

During a regular season against the Warriors on March 16, Anthony Davis suffered an eye injury late in the first quarter. In an attempt for a driving layup, AD took an elbow blow to his left eye from then-rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis. The team ruled him out for the rest of the game, ultimately leaving the Lakers to lose. However, in the very next game against the Atlanta Hawks, Davis popped up and dropped 22 points and 15 rebounds.

However, a month later, he missed a game against the Warriors on April 7th, citing a left eye contusion. Notably, he suffered a blow again in his left eye against the Wolves. Importantly, he just missed one game with the contusion.

Will the nagging injuries topple Anthony Davis’ MVP season?

Anthony Davis has been crushing his criticisms one after another since last year. After his impressive stint with the Pelicans, everyone, especially Charles Barkley, hailed him as the future MVP. However, it all came crashing down when he consistently missed games with injuries.

Exactly when everyone wrote him off, the superstar came up with a career-high appearance of 76 games in the 2023-24 season. He didn’t stop at that. AD actively participated in the off-season, representing Team USA and showcasing his block party against the international teams in Paris. Months later, he started the season with three 30-point games on the trot, putting him right on top of the MVP ladder.

Speaking of AD’s initial push, Barkley said, “If he can stay healthy like he did last year and play like he is now, he’s going to be in the MVP conversation but the thing about it, he’s going to have to play like that all year.”

 So, here’s the answer: AD has to stay healthy to get that touted award.

Looking at the injury history, Davis hasn’t missed more than a game for his left eye injury. Meaning, we could probably see him in action for the next game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday. Will AD stay healthy throughout the season to win the MVP? Let us know in the comments.