Lakers Rumors: Jarred Vanderbilt Expected to Miss 'Several Weeks' with Foot Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers received some tough injury news on Friday.

Veteran forward Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to be sidelined for "several weeks" with a right foot injury, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Vanderbilt will undergo further evaluation to determine if he will be out of the lineup even longer, Wojnarowski added.

Vanderbilt exited L.A.'s 114-105 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday just before halftime. He poked the ball away from Celtics star Jayson Tatum and ran up the court to prevent the ball from going out of bounds before coming up limping and putting little weight on his foot.

The 24-year-old limped off the court and into the locker room and was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game. Initial X-rays on his foot came back negative.

The injury is a tough blow for Vanderbilt, who didn't make his season debut until December due to bursitis in his left heel.

Vanderbilt had emerged as a regular in Darvin Ham's rotation, starting six of 29 games, including Thursday's win over the Celtics. He's averaging 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from deep.

With LeBron James considered day-to-day with ankle soreness and Vanderbilt now out for the next several weeks, the Lakers are likely to turn to forwards Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood and Taurean Prince to fill the void.

The Purple and Gold improved to 25-25 with Thursday's win, though they still sit ninth in the Western Conference and could use some reinforcements if they hope to contend for a title this year.

Dejounte Murray, Bruce Brown, Royce O'Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith are among the players the Lakers have been linked to leading up to the Feb. 8 trade deadline.