Ouch.
Lakers announce that Kobe Bryant has a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee. He is expected to miss 6 weeks.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) December 19, 2013
Kobe Bryant will not need surgery on his leg fracture, league source tells @CBSSports: “The bone will heal.”
— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) December 19, 2013
This is obviously bad news for the Lakers, who are already missing all three of their point guards (Steve Nash, Steve Blake, and Jordan Farmar) due to injury. They’d experimented with playing Kobe at the point, and now they’ll have to try something else.
Bryant had only played in six games this season after making his comeback from a torn Achilles, averaging 13.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in just under 30 minutes per game.
Lets be realistic. I read a medically related article that said the 6 week timetable is the most optimistic. The previous 2 other players with same injury missed 10 weeks of playing time (Yao Ming was one). However, since they were both Bigs, it could be less time for someone like Kobe. The article also said that since this fracture was rare, it likely would not have happened if didn’t return from the Achilles injury so soon. Also, this bone is very Weight Bearing, so it has to be more fully healed to have a chance to play.
Therefore, I can’t see Kobe returning prematurely this time. Charles Barkley said he should just take off the rest of the season.
Sarcastic question: Will stupid fans still vote Kobe into the All Star game and would he play (assuming he is available by then).