Lonzo Ball, an American basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers, returned to the court on July 4, six months after being diagnosed with an ankle sprain. Ball sprained the ankle on January 19 in a game against the Houston Rockets. While Ball was originally expected to return before the end of the season, the Lakers decided to let Ball heal more completely and return over the Summer. It was the third time Ball had sprained his ankle injury during the season but he had not missed any time during the previous instances.
Nick Ahmed, an American baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks, exited the June 9 game against the Toronto Blue Jays with a left foot injury. The team’s training staff called it “an apparent bone contusion” but sprains are more common and more likely. Ahmed was injured when his foot slipped in the batter’s box during the third inning of the game, which the Diamondbacks won 8-2. No diagnostic tests were performed. Ahmed returned to play on June 11.
A sprain is a stretching or tearing of the tissue bands that connect bones together at joints. Most sprains heal within two to three weeks. Recommended treatment includes resting and applying ice to the sprain.
On June 10, Kevin Durant ruptured his right Achilles tendon during the second quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The injury came after Durant missing nine playoff games due to a strained calf on the same leg from May 8. He underwent surgery on June 12. Durant was cleared by the team’s medical staff to play Game 5. According to Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, the team did not believe it was putting Durant at risk for further injury.
Courtesy of Mayo Clinic
The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscle to the heel bone. It is the largest and strongest tendon in the body. Blood flow through the tendon is poor, which may make the tendon susceptible to tearing and also slow its healing. Achilles tendon injuries often occur following an abrupt increase in activity or intensity, such as a return to competition after weeks of not playing in Durant’s case.
There is speculation that what was diagnosed as a calf strain on May 8 might actually have been Achilles tendinopathy. The Warriors organization has not yet released a timetable for Durant’s return to play. Generally, eight months is the quickest recovery time among NBA players after an Achilles rupture. Durant’s teammate DeMarcus Cousins also had an Achilles tendon rupture in January 2018. Cousins needed almost an entire year to recover enough to return to play.
Learn About Your Skeleton, Muscles, and Ligaments by reading about the ailments of prominent athletes.
