Rui Hachimura says knee is 70 to 80 percent, can only fully heal with rest

While he returned from injury on Saturday, Rui Hachimura noted that his knee is not fully healthy and likely won’t be the rest of the season.

The Lakers got a boost on Saturday with the return of LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.

After suffering his injury against the Clippers in late February, Hachimura spent the better part of a month rehabbing from his knee tendinopathy. But while he was healthy enough to return to court again, he admitted postgame that he was not 100% and likely wouldn’t be the remainder of the season.

“It’s like 70, 80 [percent],” Hachimura said. “My knee’s going to be like there for a while, I think. I can’t really get back to 100% right away. I got to rest for like a long time to get back to my normal…We just go to maintain and manage it.”

It’s certainly not great news that Rui basically won’t be fully healthy the rest of the year. That being said, few players ever are healthy at this point in a season. Everyone is dealing with some sort of ailment.

At the same time, a Hachimura with a knee at 70-80% is still a valuable player for the Lakers. The team is deep enough that they won’t ask too much out of him down the stretch while still being able to reap the benefits of having him healthy.

The Lakers needed him back and it’s a positive he’s around. Now, he and the team will have to navigate his injury the rest of the season, which could mean sitting out back-to-backs and occasional games moving forward.

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