The Milwaukee Bucks took a step closer to clinching the second seed in the NBA Eastern Conference by defeating the top seeded Boston Celtics 104-91. The victory, however, came at an unfortunate cost. Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a non-contact lower leg injury and needed to be helped to the locker room.
Initially, fans and analysts took to social media expressing their worst fears. Many believed that Giannis had torn his Achilles tendon, an injury that could keep him out not only the rest of this season and postseason, but parts of next year as well.
Fortunately for the Bucks, they got good news regarding the injury on Wednesday.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Strained a Muscle in His Calf
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Giannis avoided a long-term serious injury. Instead of a torn Achilles, he suffered a strained calf:
“Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo has avoided damage to his left Achilles tendon – a best-case outcome – and his return to play is based on treatment and rehab response for strained calf.
“Calves are undeniably tricky and these type of strains have timetable of at least one-to-two weeks. But rehab will determine a length of time for the two-time NBA MVP.”
The muscle Giannis injured, his Soleus, can require multiple weeks of rehab and healing time.
As it turns out, one of his teammates is very familiar with the injury, having suffered it himself in the past: Damian Lillard.
Milwaukee Bucks Point Guard Damian Lillard Reveals How Long It Took Him to Recover from a Soleus Strain
After the game, Eric Nehm of The Athletic asked Lillard about his past Soleus injury and how long it took him to recover. Lillard responded:
“That s— hurt. It hurt. … When I did it, usually I’m able to walk things off. I feel like I have a high pain tolerance and when I did it, I started to walk, it wasn’t just that it was that painful, it was that the muscle just can’t handle it.
“So, I think once it calmed down, you kind of figured out a way to limp around it, but it’s a weird feeling. But hearing that, I know, I know that feeling. And also as somebody who experienced that — if that’s what it is — that’s also encouraging.
“When I did it, I strained my calf and then I came back after like, I’d probably say, eight or nine days, I came back from the calf. And then … I had the soleus injury like right after I came back. I think it was like a game or two after I came back, I did my soleus. And then after that, it was like two weeks. For me, it was like two weeks and then I came back and played.”
In other words, the injury is incredibly painful, but Lillard was able to come back and play after two weeks. It is worth noting, though, that he had just come back from a calf strain before hurting his Soleus.
When Can Milwaukee Bucks Fans Expect Giannis Antetokounmpo Back?
As noted above, it took Lillard two weeks to recover from the kind of injury that Giannis is currently dealing with. That being said, Shams also said above that the timetable for Giannis’ return will depend on how he responds to treatment.
The NBA Playoffs are scheduled to start on April 20 this year. If Giannis out for two weeks, he could miss the first game or two of Milwaukee’s opening round.
The Bucks’ final regular season game is on April 14, so it is safe to say that Giannis’ regular season is over.
With these factors in mind, the best case scenario is that the Bucks would get their star back ready for Game One of their opening round.
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