The Boston Celtics said on Sunday that goalkeeper Marcus Smart has a grade 1 strain on his left leg.
The Celtics said Smart would be out in two to three weeks, but a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that he was optimistic he could return in a week or two.
Smart underwent an MRI on Sunday after leaving Boston’s 96-95 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter on Saturday with an injury.
Smart, who came into the game with an average of 13.2 points and 6.0 assists – both career highs – didn’t seem to land on anyone’s feet when he landed in front of the Boston bench after fighting for a 10-point rebound. minutes, remaining 31 seconds in the fourth quarter. But after a moment, Smart grabbed the back of his left leg and fell to the ground, shivering in pain.
After Boston rang at the expiration, Smart was left a little off before he was finally helped to leave the yard and immediately returned to the Boston locker room by two Boston staff. He did not put any weight on his left leg while he was being helped.
Boston, which has lost two games in a row, is leaving Monday for a five-game trip to the West Coast, which begins Tuesday in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.