Blake Griffin Could Miss Up To 8 Weeks With A Sprained MCL (UPDATED)

The Clippers have been beleaguered by injuries to start the season, particularly at the point guard position, but things managed to get even worse on Monday night when Blake Griffin went down late against the Lakers with a left knee injury.

Griffin, Austin Rivers, and Lonzo Ball all went after a loose ball, and as Griffin went to the ground, Rivers got bumped and fell on top of Griffin’s left leg, bending his knee the wrong way from the side. The injury didn’t look good, and after the game Doc Rivers didn’t have much in the way of an update beyond that.

On Tuesday, Griffin underwent testing and he and the Clippers got some relatively good news, according to NBA.com’s David Aldridge, who reported Griffin had a sprained MCL.

Griffin will still miss time — Aldridge notes he’ll be out ‘a while’ — but a sprained MCL is a better outcome than what it could have been, had something gotten torn in his knee. In any case, the oft-injured star will be on the shelf for a bit and the Clippers’ task of climbing out of the cellar of the Western Conference will get even more difficult than it already was with Patrick Beverley out for the season and Milos Teodosic still recovering from a foot injury.

UPDATE: We have an official timetable for Griffin’s return, along with some relatively good news. There’s no structural damage in Griffin’s knee beyond the sprained MCL, and he should miss about two months, according to the Clippers.

There are a ton of questions facing the Clippers right now, but based on this report, we know that Griffin will be able to suit up for a run at the postseason in the event they’re able to fight their way into playoff contention.