Lakers guard Xavier Henry will miss at least 7-10 days with bone bruise
By Brad Rowland
The Los Angeles Lakers are never void of intriguing storylines, and a recent rash of injuries to their backcourt is no exception. Early in the day on Monday, head coach Mike D’Antoni famously opined that “point” guard Xavier Henry could be ‘out for years’ as a result of an injury, but later, the team provided some actual clarity to the injury timeline on one of their best players (believe it or not).
From the team’s official release at 7:00 pm ET on Monday:
"Lakers guard Xavier Henry, who injured his right knee in last night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, had an MRI and was examined today by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo of the Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. Results showed that Henry has a bone bruise and an abnormality of the lateral meniscus. He will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days."
Initially, you may project a simple week-long recovery for Henry, but it’s important to note that he’ll simply be re-evaluated after that, and this could be far worse than that. Henry was serving as a primary ball-handler in the absence of Steve Blake, Steve Nash, and Kobe Bryant, and even with Jordan Farmar “healthy” now, Henry is one of the best shot-creators on the LA roster.
He’s been a pleasant surprise this season after toiling away in bench roles elsewhere, and Henry is averaging more than 10 points per game in 21+ minutes. Any significant loss for the Lakers would be devastating right now given their depth issues, and for their sake, let’s hope Henry is out for the “minimum” time period.