LeBron James reveals how long he’ll need to recover from ‘pain he hadn’t felt before’

In the latest episode of his ‘Mind The Game’ podcast, LeBron James described his MCL sprain in detail and said the recovery period will be four to six weeks.

The more we hear about LeBron James’ injury, the clearer it is just how serious it actually is.

After the Lakers were eliminated in five games against the Wolves, it was reported that LeBron suffered an MCL sprain in Game 5 when he collided with Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo in the fourth quarter.

He was able to finish the contest, but he had a noticeable limp after the game.

On a recent episode of his “Mind The Game” podcast, LeBron spoke about the injury and the length of his recovery period.

“I knew as soon as when the impact happened with me and DiVincenzo, I felt it right away. My knee locked up, and that’s why I stayed on the ground for quite a minute to see, if the knee would kind of release a little bit, but I knew right then and there it was a pain that I hadn’t felt before.

And I think, obviously, when I was running back to close out and he collided into me, my knee bent inward and that’s the MCL injury that I have,” LeBron said. “Four to six weeks, the docs told me, I have four or six weeks now.

“That’s the benefit of not going on in the postseason. Obviously, I wish I was still going, but, unfortunately, even if we would have won Game 5 at home, I would probably miss six and seven and even further.”

It’s always scary when a player with 22 years of NBA experience describes an injury as a pain they’ve never felt. All things considered, it sounds like LeBron avoided a very serious, potentially career-threatening injury.

With the Lakers eliminated, the good news is we don’t have to worry about LeBron trying to push through this injury or attempt to come back quickly. Now, he has the time to get it fully right.

LeBron seems to be taking his recovery just as seriously as he does his play on the court. He missed the Met Gala due to this injury and appears to be doing everything to get it right as soon as possible.

While LeBron has had plenty of injuries this year, including ankle injuries and a groin strain, this is his first major knee issue.

At LeBron’s age, every injury is serious and must be handled appropriately to avoid becoming an ongoing concern.

It sounds like he is on the right path towards recovery, and with no basketball on his calendar for the summer, he can take his time and get 100% healthy well before training camp begins.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.