A plantar fascia injury is keeping LA Lakers’ Pau Gasol off the court, but the forward is reluctant to say how long the injury will affect his game time.
"I've had some injuries before," Gasol said after the Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets. "They're never pleasant, they're never fun. But right now, I'm a little bit uncertain how long this thing is going to take."
The forward admits that he “tweaked” the plantar fascia in his right foot in the first half of the Nets match and almost made it through the rest of the game—but late in the fourth quarter, he made a jump and felt his fascia “pop.”
"I tried to jump off of it and try go block the shot... just as I took off, I felt a pop in the bottom of my foot on my fascia and I couldn't get up. I'm worried about it," he admitted.
Gasol, who left Barclays Center that night on crutches, had been dealing with the ligament pain for a few weeks before the jump caused the injury to worsen. The four-time All-Star has already missed 13 games this season due to a concussion and tendinitis in his knees, and is now telling reporters that he was playing through a pain level of 8 out of 10 in his right foot in previous games.
"It felt kind of OK a little bit putting my weight on it without walking or running, but once I started running, I was limping and it was really sore," Gasol said. "Even if I tried, I couldn't go."
Gasol is looking forward to the results of his upcoming scan to determine the extent of the damage.
"With the MRI, I'll know exactly what I have and what's next," Gasol said.