Just when Kobe Bryant was just starting to find his old groove again, he will reportedly miss six weeks with a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee. He will not need surgery, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, as the bone will heal on its own. However, this is still a major setback for a player just recently coming off the devastating torn left Achilles tendon. In six games since coming back from injury this season, the Mamba had been averaging 13.8 points and 6.3 assists on sub-43 percent shooting.
Mike Trudell of Lakers.com reports the injury occurred during the Lakers’ win over Memphis on Tuesday night when Bryant was backing Tony Allen into the post and appeared to hyperextend the knee.
The Lakers announced the injury on Twitter and also tweeted that Xavier Henry will take over point guard duties for the 12-13 Lakers since Bryant had been handling those amid the various L.A. injuries. During today’s practice, Henry and Jodie Meeks started in the team’s backcourt, along with Wesley Johnson, Jordan Hill and Pau Gasol up front.
The team also announced that backup guard Jordan Farmar‘s hamstring has still not healed. He’s been ruled out for at least another week.
Injury Update: Kobe Bryant has a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee. He is expected to miss 6 weeks.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 19, 2013
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D’Antoni: “You hate it for Kobe. He’s worked so hard to get back.” @XavierHenry will take over PG duties for the short-handed Lakers.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 19, 2013
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