The Los Angeles Lakers received some new in regards to the health of shooting guard Kobe Bryant and it has been learned that he has fractured his lateral tibial plateau in his left knee, according to the official Twitter account. He’s expected to miss six weeks. ESPN medical expect Dr. Michael Kaplan called that six-week time frame a “modest” estimation and said that the veteran could miss longer than the upcoming month and a half period.
Obviously, this is a major setback for both Bryant and the Lakers. The 35-year-old returned from a torn Achilles on December 8 against the Toronto Raptors.
Bryant’s explosiveness was hampered in the Raptors’ game, though he seemed to have improve dramatically this past week. In Los Angeles’ last game against the Memphis Grizzlies, he had a stat line of 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the victory. Yet, during the third quarter the shooting guard fell to the floor in the third quarter grabbing his knee still he got up and seemingly able to walk the pain off.
As for what the Lakers will do in his absence, the team was already ravaged with injuries, with Bryant having to take over point guard duties due to each point guard having an ailment. Now, it is almost assured that Laker general manager Mitch Kupchak will have to at least explore options in the free agent market.
Time will tell what the front office does in response to this news and how the team will respond to the loss, although it is a horrible disappointment for the 12-13 Lakers.