The Los Angeles Lakers will have to wait until they return home from China to have diagnostic tests performed to determine the severity of a right thumb injury to forward Anthony Davis.
The reason for the delay stems from the lack of necessary medical equipment within the arena where the injury took place on Saturday.
Anthony Davis will have diagnostic tests for his sprained right thumb upon his return to Los Angeles. There is no x-Ray machine at the Shenzhen arena.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) October 12, 2019
Davis suffered the injury during the first quarter of the Lakers’ 91-77 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. The first assessment by the team’s trainers was that the injury was a sprain, but the efforts to get a more official diagnosis were then stymied by the medical setup in place.
Looks like this is the play where Anthony Davis hurt his thumb. pic.twitter.com/ab0Z8WQODY
— Laker Film Room (@LakerFilmRoom) October 12, 2019
Exactly how severe the injury is remains unknown, though Davis was able to continue playing for a short period of time. He then went to the locker room and came out with the thumb wrapped in ice.
Anthony Davis has returned to the Lakers' bench with a ice pack wrapped around his right thumb. Waiting on a status update for him for the rest of the game.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 12, 2019
Not having Davis for an extended period of time would deliver a severe blow to the Lakers’ efforts at contending for supremacy in the Western Conference. While the team is hoping that the injury isn’t a major one, even a mild sprain could keep the veteran out for a while.
“A mild sprain should heal in about six weeks if you wear a splint or cast and do rehabilitation exercises,” according to HealthLine.com. “A more serious sprain may take several months to heal before you regain most of your thumb’s function again, especially if you had UCL surgery.”
The Lakers’ concerted efforts to trade for Davis culminated with his acquisition in June. However, until the official diagnosis of his injury is offered, the team will have to hope that it’s not the beginning of another injury-plagued campaign like last year.
