Lakers star Anthony Davis will be out at least four weeks with foot sprain

It looked bad because it was bad.

Anthony Davis suffered a mid-foot sprain Wednesday against Utah, testing revealed, sidelining him for at least the next four weeks.

The Lakers said Davis underwent a MRI on Thursday after X-rays were negative Wednesday, and he’ll be re-evaluated by team doctors in four weeks.

If Davis were to return from the injury in four weeks, he’ll have missed the Lakers first 11 games after the All-Star break.

In 37 games this season, he’s averaging 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.2 steals.

He suffered the injury in the first half against the Jazz, landing badly after jumping to catch a lob pass and coming down on Rudy Gobert’s heel. He stayed on the court for an extended period of time, slapping the court and cursing, while medical staffers brought a stretcher onto the court.

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Feb. 16, 2022

Davis was able to get to the locker room with the help of his teammates while putting no weight on his foot.

“Obviously it’s sickening to see AD go down in that fashion,” LeBron James said postgame.

The injury ensures Davis will spend another significant stretch off the court for the Lakers — a trend that has mirrored the team’s struggles since it won a championship in 2020.

In the following season, Davis suffered an Achilles tendon injury that cost him 32 combined games during the Lakers’ failed title defense. He then suffered a knee injury in the playoffs against the Suns, and later, a groin strain — forcing him out for all except five minutes in the final two games against Phoenix.

Committed to staying healthier this season, Davis has suffered some rotten luck. He sprained his knee in December after a player was pushed into his leg. He missed 17 games with the injury.

And this latest setback, a foot sprain, means the Lakers will be short-handed for close to half of their remaining 24 games while holding a 4 1/2-game lead over 11th-place New Orleans in the West. The Lakers are six games back of sixth-place Denver in their attempt to work themselves out of the postseason play-in tournament.

Following Wednesday’s win against the Jazz, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the team must keep pushing.

“Win games until he gets back. That simple. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” he said. “We don’t know obviously how long it will be, but we got to win as many games as we can down the stretch.

“We believe in the group we have, and hopefully we’re able to get whole as quickly as possible, and like we’ve been saying all along, we have a strong belief in this group if we’re able to stay healthy and stay whole. So we just got to win as many games as we can down that stretch.”