Anthony Davis Injury Update: LA Lakers star 'pain free' during individual workouts

Anthony Davis of the LA Lakers has been out since Dec. 16 after suffering a foot injury against the Denver Nuggets. Davis was ruled out indefinitely, but there is hope that he'll make his return during the All-Star break.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham provided the latest injury update on Davis. Ham told reporters (h/t Mark Medina of NBA.com) that Davis has started individual workouts and is "pretty much pain-free."

"You have to be careful," Ham said. "Feeling good after an individual workout could be a little bit different than when you got extra bodies on the floor."

Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported Davis' plans to return sometime next month. Charania noted that the eight-time All-Star will likely start contact workouts soon.

"Anthony Davis is expected to start running now," Charania said. "So once that happens, and he's back onto the floor running full speed at that point, he's gonna progress to contact work in the relative near future.

"I'm told that the hope is that Anthony Davis is gonna be able to get back out on the floor with a handful of games left before the All-Star break that puts you at about early February for a potential return."

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Davis was having a great season before suffering the foot injury. He was averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game.

Also Read: Kobe Bryant refused help after tearing his Achilles as a shot at Paul Pierce

LeBron James carrying the LA Lakers in Anthony Davis' absence

LeBron James has had to carry the LA Lakers in the absence of Anthony Davis. James has led the Lakers to an 8-9 record since Davis went down with an injury. "The King" is averaging 34.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists during that span.

If James was unable to help the Lakers win games, they would have had a much worse record. They are currently 13th in the Western Conference standings with a record of 20-25. They are five games below .500, but are still capable of making the playoffs.

The Lakers are just 1.5 games behind the final play-in tournament spots and are 2.5 games behind the top six. If Davis returns and maintains his health, there's a real chance they could return to the postseason.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, it's also possible that the Lakers front office will look to improve their roster. They are still the fourth-worst 3-point shooting team in the league, ahead of the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors and Charrlote Hornets at 33.7%

Also Read: Ronny Turiaf thinks LeBron James can lead LA Lakers back to playoffs