LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis says he will return from a nine-week absence against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, as long as his right foot responds well in practice on Wednesday.
Davis said he now feels “100 percent” healthy from leg strain and tendinosis in his right leg, but detailed the frightening moments after the injury.
“I never tore an Achilles tendon, but it felt like a sharp pain, as if it were a tear I had never felt before,” Davis said. “… That’s when I knew it was serious. It wasn’t as serious as it could have been, but still, it was a pretty serious injury.”
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Davis will start against the Mavericks and his playing time will be limited to 15 minutes for the first two games he plays.
Davis said LeBron James, with a straight ankle sprained in the last month, “probably needs a few weeks” to join him in line.
The Lakers have been 14-16 since Davis was eliminated on Feb. 14, dropping from No. 2 to No. 5 in the Western Conference standings.
“It will be my job to try to help the team stay afloat until he comes back and continues to fight,” Davis said. “But this team has done more than we can ask for.”