Dennis Schroder has a tendency to dish on LeBron James‘ medical situation.
In May of 2021, you might remember the Los Angeles Lakers point guard telling a German publication that he believed he and LeBron were the only Lakers players who had yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This past December, Schroder said that LeBron personally revealed to Dennis his intentions to retire at age 45.
Fast forward to Lakers' shootaround on Friday, and you'll find Schroder making cryptic remarks on LeBron's recovery process as he nurses a foot injury.
“I can’t say too much … But German doctors are great,” Dennis said with a wry smile. “That’s all I’m saying.”
LeBron was mysteriously away from the Lakers for a few days last week. Last Tuesday night, for instance, he was neither at Crypto.com Arena for Pau Gasol's jersey retirement ceremony nor at Sierra Canyon's season finale. (Lakers fans may recall Kobe Bryant famously traveling to Germany for special knee surgery)
Schroder added that LeBron has been conducting three rehab sessions a day as he works his way back.
Schroder added that James is doing three sessions a day to work towards a comeback from his right foot injury. https://t.co/NGhJ488f0Q
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 17, 2023
LeBron is set to be re-evaluated in about a week and a half, though he's expected to be out for longer. The Lakers have 12 games left in their regular season, which wraps on April 9.
Earlier on Friday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst intimated, as The Athletic's Shams Charania did earlier this week, that LeBron's return is far from imminent.
“What I’ve heard on LeBron is that he is not close,” said Windhorst. “That was what I was told: Not close. Does that mean he’s out for six months? No… I know that everybody said the three weeks, but I think it was very clear that three weeks is when he is going to get the official reevaluation, it didn’t mean he was coming back in three weeks. I know that LeBron has played through injuries in the past. I’m not 100% sure that this is an injury he can play through.
“Remember a couple years ago when he had that nasty high ankle sprain when Solomon Hill rolled up on him from behind and was basically a wrecking ball to that Lakers season? And he came back for the playoffs and was nowhere near himself, and then basically admitted afterwards that he shouldn’t have been playing, and then completely shut down for the whole summer just to get that ankle right? I wouldn’t rule out that he couldn’t limp back in there for the playoffs like he did there, but he wasn’t himself.”
LeBron has been out since Feb. 26. The Lakers are 5-4 during his absence, allowing them to keep pace amid the muddled Western Conference playoff picture.
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