The Los Angeles Lakers announced that forward Rui Hachimura underwent a procedure on Friday to repair a nasal fracture that occurred during the lost to the Dallas Mavericks game on Wednesday.
Hachimura will be reevaluated by team doctors in approximately one week, which means he will miss at least four games on the upcoming road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The injury comes at an unfortunate time considering how shorthanded the Lakers have been in recent weeks with Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent all missing time.
This seems to be the second blow to the face Hachimura has taken early this season as he already missed four games in concussion protocols. Since he returned from that injury, the forward seemed to be in a bit of a groove offensively as he averaged 13.0 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 52.4% from the field and 46.2% from 3-point range in nine games.
Overall in 12 games on the season, Hachimura has averaged 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 50.5% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range. He re-signed with the Lakers on a three-year contract this past offseason coming off his exceptional playoff performance last season.
In Hachimura’s absence, guys like Max Christie, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes will continue to see increased minutes for L.A. Reddish is currently listed as day-to-day with left adductor soreness so the hope is that he will be back in the lineup as soon as possible to give the Lakers at least a little bit of wing depth. He is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game in Cleveland.
Vanderbilt and Vincent are likely a little further away from returning compared to Reddish although they both seem to be making progress too.
At 9-7, the Lakers have gotten off to a rocky start to the season with injuries playing a big role in that. With Hachimura now set to miss more time, others will need to step up to avoid L.A. falling below .500 on the upcoming road trip.
Vanderbilt gets in pregame workout as he nears return
There still is not set timetable on when Vanderbilt will make his season debut for the Lakers as he continues to work his way back from heel bursitis.
He was recently seen getting in a workout before a Lakers home game though and looked good, so perhaps a return is on the horizon for L.A.’s best defensive wing.
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