Darius Garland's Clippers Debut Is Postponed After Disappointing Injury Update

Clippers fans will not like Darius Garland's return timetable.

David Richard-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers are entering a crucial two-month stretch starting with Thursday's clash against the Denver Nuggets. LA has 28 games left before the season to climb higher up the Western Conference standings to secure a playoff spot. That is why the All-Star break came at the perfect time to allow the Clippers, who went through significant changes at the trade deadline, to practice together and get healthy before the final stretch. This was especially the case for Darius Garland, who hasn't played since January 14 with a toe sprain.

It turns out, Garland is expected to be out for even longer than initially thought. While many were expecting the 26-year-old point guard to make his Clippers debut on Thursday, he has been ruled out for the next two games, per The Athletic's Law Murray. Murray added that Garland is week-to-week and will likely make his season debut in March as the Clippers "want Garland to be fully over the toe injury when he returns to play."

Darius Garland Is Out at Least 2 More Games & Should Be Considered Week-to-Week

This is a disappointing development for the Clippers. After the trade, Garland had said that he was ready to go and was just waiting for "the green light". This suggested that his return to action was imminent. It turns out Garland is only "practicing on a limited basis to manage his surgically-repaired left toe."

On one hand, the Clippers' desire not to rush Garland's return is understandable. On the other hand, it seems like the severity of the situation was previously hidden from Clippers fans.

Before he joined the Clippers, Garland had missed some time due to a toe sprain on his right foot. That was only supposed to be a week-long absence, and Garland has seemingly recovered from that. The bigger concern is that the All-Star guard is now sidelined because of his surgically-repaired toe. This suggests a lingering issue that hasn't resolved itself and will have to be managed throughout the season.

This was the same toe that gave Garland trouble in last year's playoffs, forcing him to miss four games. He wasn't effective in the rest of the postseason as he dealt with pain. The fact that Garland is still dealing with the same injury ten months later, despite undergoing offseason surgery, is not a great sign.

Let's hope that the Clippers can continue their momentum without Garland. If they can stay in the postseason chase, getting Garland back should give them a boost for the final push. But Clippers fans will have to wait a little longer to see their new starting point guard in action.

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