James rolled his ankle during the win over the Utah Jazz on Monday.
Miami Heat star LeBron James remains hopeful that his ankle injury will not force him to miss the clash with Eastern Conference rivals the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
The four-time league MVP sustained the injury late in the third quarter of the win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night, but after receiving treatment he did return to finish the game.
However, as he predicted in his post-game interview, the ankle was sore the following day and he was forced to miss practice with his status at questionable for the meeting with the Pacers.
“Very stiff, very sore,” James said, according to ESPN.
“Like I said, I’ve had my fair share of ankle twists. I already knew what it was going to be [like] today. I’m going to be [in] around-the-clock treatment. We’ve been through this, so we know how to attack it.”
James is the only Heat player to start every game so far this season and has missed just 10 games during his 11-year career due to ankle sprains.
Considering his impressive start to the season in terms of shooting efficiency and his overall influence on the team, coach Erik Spoelstra will be desperate to have him available for selection against their immediate rivals for top spot in the East.
The defending champions lost in Indiana last week, and will be determined to bounce back despite James’ claims that these games aren’t too important at this stage of the season.
Nevertheless, having flirted with triple-doubles in the past two games, he will be eager to maintain his current momentum and put on a strong performance as he accepts that “it’s a mental thing” in terms of overcoming the sprain.
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