Lonzo Ball Injury Update: Lakers Rookie Could Miss Rising Stars Game

The Los Angeles Lakers have been without rookie guard Lonzo Ball for three weeks and his absence could extend through the All-Star break.

Ball has missed eleven games for the Lakers and his injury could cost him an appearance at the Rising Star’s Challenge during All-Star weekend on Feb. 16.

The team initially expected their No. 2 draft pick to miss just three weeks after he was diagnosed with an MCL sprain, which typically takes one to three weeks to recover.

"I don't know," Ball told reporters Wednesday when asked when he would return. "Hopefully that day comes when I can play, and hopefully it's before the All-Star break. It would be my first time ever experiencing All-Star."

Ball himself never expected to be out for this long and a timetable for his return remains uncertain. He admitted to re-aggravating his injury in January during light rehab drills.

"I didn't think it was going to be this serious, to be honest," Ball said, according to ESPN. "There was never a timeline for it. It was kind of just a thing that came up. I thought it was going to be dealt with quicker but obviously my body didn't react to it that well. I should be back hopefully soon."

The 20-year-old is expected to miss his 12^th straight game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Ball has been mostly restricted to shooting drills so far but looked forward to attempting more lateral movement workouts Wednesday with Lakers assistant Miles Simon. A week after the injury, Ball had reportedly been jogging on a treadmill.

"I can’t take off like full sprints, and I can’t jump either," Ball said during practice. "When I can do those things, that’s when hopefully I can get on the court. One dribble, two dribble pullups. Maybe some slides for defense. Just see what I can do. Test it as far as I can and see where the pain comes."

Ball first sprained his left knee against the Dallas Mavericks Jan. 13. The Lakers have gone 7-2 without their starting point guard. He is averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 36 games this season.