Struggling: That’s one way to describe the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers. Tonight, they continued their poor form, as they fell to local rivals, the LA Clippers. The absence of LeBron James since the last nine games has taken a huge hit on their performance. But their problems arose after Anthony Davis’ injury.

The Lakers have played 27 games this season without AD and have won just 14. They are barely a .500 team without him, although the absence of LeBron along with AD in the last nine games has to be noted. So, why is Davis not playing?

Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Davis has had multiple ailments, with the latest being an Achilles’ injury. He first suffered it before their back-to-back games against the Thunder, but he returned after missing just two games.

In his second game after his return, against the Nuggets, he re-aggravated his injury and hasn’t played since then.

Davis has dealt with leg injuries all season, but his earlier absences were restricted to one or two games. But now, it has been 22 games since he last played for the Lakers.

More details on Anthony Davis’ Achilles injury

The Lakers’ medical staff termed his injury to be an Achilles’ tendinosis. As the second quarter was about to end, Davis had the ball. He was up against Jokic, and as he tried to blow by him, he felt something in his leg and walked off the court. Davis didn’t return after that, and the Lakers ended up losing.

His MRI after the game showed no rupture luckily. However, along with re-aggravating his Achilles injury, he also suffered a calf strain. So Davis, who has previously played through injuries, decided to take a proper rest this time.

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When will Davis return to the Lakers lineup?

The initial reports suggested he could return within 2-3 weeks, but that got delayed. A few days after LeBron got injured, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said Davis could return in two weeks. Just as fans eagerly waited for those two weeks to end, Vogel announced that AD is still out indefinitely.

“AD continues to ramp up but is still a ways away,” he said during the press conference on Sunday.

This is worrying news for the Lakers fans, who are watching their team lose repeatedly in the absence of their stars. It won’t be surprising if the Lakers rest AD until the playoffs, because he showed what a beast he can be in the playoffs last season.

They need him healthy for those big games so a return any time soon is not on the cards.

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