Lakers News: Trevor Ariza Will Miss A Minimum of Eight Weeks

The Lakers are already dealing with injuries.

Trevor Ariza will miss a minimum of eight weeks after having surgery Wednesday. The news was surprising as it had not been reported to be this serious.

Lakers forward Trevor Ariza underwent a procedure on his right ankle and will be re-evaluated in eight weeks, team says.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 7, 2021

From the Lakers press release: "Trevor Ariza had an arthroscopic debridement procedure performed on his right ankle today. He is expected to make a complete recovery. Team doctors will reevaluate Ariza in approximately 8 weeks, and an update will be provided at that time."

"Arthroscopic debridement" means they cleaned out tissue or bone spurs that were affecting the joint. The healing for this injury can vary, so it makes sense that they're going to have to re-evaluate Ariza in two months.

Ariza had not been participating for almost the entirety of training camp. He had been practicing in full until last week when an injury report sidelined him. At the time, the Lakers called it "ankle soreness" and the majority of Laker fans probably just wrote it off as the kind of injuries that happen to players who have been in the NBA for 15+ years.

Unfortunately without Ariza, the Lakers depth is going to be sorely tested. The Lakers have a bevy of guards on their roster, forwards are in short supply. Ariza was rumored to be competing for a starting spot, so the Lakers are going to have to do something else. 

Carmelo Anthony looked spry in his minutes against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, but I think the Lakers were hoping he'd be more of a bench option. Ariza will be missed while he recovers.