Lakers rookie Ball to miss at least two more games

Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New York, United States — Lonzo Ball will miss the last two games of the Los Angeles Lakers’ current road trip as he recovers from a sprained knee ligament, coach Luke Walton said Thursday.

Ball is travelling with the team but didn’t practice in Brooklyn on Thursday ahead of Friday’s game against the Nets.

Walton said Ball will also miss Sunday’s game at Oklahoma City because the schedule won’t give Ball time to test the knee in training.

“Today was our last real practice,” Walton said. “Saturday will be a shootaround and he will not play before he practices, so he is out until at least we get home.”

Ball, sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee on January 13 in a game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Through Sunday he will have missed 10 games recovering.

He missed six with a sprained shoulder in December and January.

Walton indicated at the weekend that the Lakers won’t rush Ball, the second overall selection in last June’s draft.

“He’ll be back when he’s ready to play,” Walton said on Saturday. “Whenever his knee feels good. Once he gets cleared it will be about getting him into practice and seeing how he feels the day after that, and we’ll start going from there.”