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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
DALLAS — After struggling Tuesday night in his return from missing five games, Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving confirmed he was diagnosed with a bulging disk in his lower back and would have to continue managing the injury.
While ESPN had reported the diagnosis, the Mavs listed the injury as a lumbar sprain in Irving’s back.
“The last almost two weeks have sucked,” Irving said after scoring 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting in a 118-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets. “I’m going to be real with you. I haven’t really had any back troubles before. So when I got the MRI back and found out it was a bulging disk, I spoke to a few experts, a few doctors, spoke to some of my teammates, spoke to some of the guys on our coaching staff as well, who have dealt with surgery or dealt with just the maintenance of that. It’s on and off.
“I just got to be very smart about it, but I’m grateful I got a chance to go out and get some minutes. Tonight really felt like I just hopped off the couch and decided to play an NBA game tonight.”
Irving said he intends to play in the second game of the Mavs’ back-to-back Wednesday night on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Luka Doncic, Irving’s co-star, has not played since straining his left calf on Christmas. Doncic is scheduled to be reevaluated in the last week of January.
Dallas lost another starter in the first quarter of Tuesday’s loss when center Dereck Lively II sprained his right ankle. He was ruled out for the rest of the game minutes later.
Irving said he had been able to alleviate the pain the bulging disk caused — including discomfort in his hamstring and down his leg — with medicine. He described the pain as being so excruciating that he couldn’t meditate.
“It’s a bulging disk in your back, so just got to do your best to manage it,” Irving said. “It’s not to the point where it’s bad enough where I need surgery, which I’m grateful to God, but I have the support of my medical staff. A few other people in this locker room deal with the same thing. So just being smart about, that’s it. Not being too cautious.”
Source: www.espn.com