By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Damian Lillard will be operated Thursday (13/1) to address a lingering abdominal injury and will miss six to eight weeks minimum according to multiple reports. The Portland Trail Blazers star will then be evaluated in order to be determined if and when he may be able to come back.
According to Yahoo Sports, two factors will come into play when it comes to Lillard’s return: A) The progress of his recovery plus his health condition, and B) The Blazers’ position in the standings. Portland is currently 10th in the Western Conference.
If the Blazers aren’t in the playoffs or the play-in tournament pictures, Lillard obviously won’t take any unnecessary risk after finally having surgery for an injury that he aggravated last summer during the Olympic Games. The six-time All-Star guard played through the injury in Tokyo and then during the NBA season, being forced to miss 11 games.
In 2021-22 so far, Lillard has been averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds over 29 games.