Lakers Rumors: LeBron James 'Is Not Close to Returning' from Foot Injury amid Rehab

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is getting closer to being reevaluated, but it doesn't sound like he will be back on the court anytime soon.

On The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 26:42 mark), ESPN's Brian Windhorst said he's been told James is "not close to returning" from the foot injury that has kept him out for the past nine games:

"LeBron is not close to returning, from what I am told. I know that everybody said the three weeks but I think it was very clear three weeks is when he's going to get an official re-evaluation. It didn't mean he's coming back in three weeks. I know that LeBron has played through injuries in the past, I'm not 100 percent sure this is an injury you can play through."

This comes on the heels of The Athletic's Jovan Buha saying on the HoopsHype podcast that James' recovery was ahead of schedule, but if he does play again "it's probably going to be the last week or so of the regular season."

The Lakers announced on March 2 the four-time MVP was dealing with a tendon injury in his foot and would be reevaluated in three weeks. It was the last thing the team needed as it attempts to secure a play-in tournament berth at least.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium told The Rally on March 14 that James' foot was "feeling much better" but Los Angeles was "bracing as if he will need a significant chunk of the remainder of the regular season to ramp up for a return."

When the Lakers first disclosed the severity of James' injury, the focus was immediately on how little time remained until the playoffs. Los Angeles' last game is April 9, so three weeks covered most of the schedule. There was no guarantee the 38-year-old would get the green light when he was reevaluated, either.

Anthony Davis has been excellent while James has been out of the lineup, and D'Angelo Russell has perhaps exceeded expectations since arriving in a midseason trade. Still, the Lakers have struggled to gain much ground in the standings without their best player.

At 34-36, L.A. is 9th in the Western Conference, two games behind the sixth-place Golden State Warriors. The Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans are both 33-36 and tied for 11th place in the west.