MANILA, Philippines – Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott says Kobe Bryant will be okay after suffering a lower leg contusion in the third quarter of LA’s preseason game against the Sacramento King on Wednesday, October 14.
According to a report by ESPN, Scott says Bryant’s injury, which kept him out the rest of the contest, is not serious and he expects the 20-year veteran to be in action during Los Angeles’ next preseason game against Golden State in San Diego.
Bryant, 37, had each of his past 3 NBA regular seasons end due to various injuries.
Bryant suffered the injury after running into Kings big man Kosta Koufos. He checked out of the game after and proceeded to the locker room.
“You guys know him. He’s about as tough as they come,” Scott said about Kobe in the ESPN report. “So I think he’ll be fine for Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).”
"When [Lakers trainer Gary Vitti] left and went to see him in the locker room, obviously there was concern," Scott said. "So when he came back, the first question was, 'Is he OK?' I saw it on the replay. It looked like he kind of got kneed in the calf or the knee. Obviously, [we were] concerned,” said Scott.
Bryant left the arena for personal reasons. The news around Twitter is he did so to visit former teammate Lamar Odom in the hospital as he battles for his life after being found unconscious in Las Vegas.
Bryant left the game with 10 points after shooting 4-of-12 in 18 minutes. – Rappler.com