Serge Ibaka has been away from the track since last March 14, when a lower back injury relegated him to the bench indefinitely. Officially, the problem of the Spanish-Congolese interior is a “tension in the lower back”According to the medical report the Los Angeles Clippers turn to every time they talk about it.
Beyond some statements from his coach Ty Lue, the information on the Spanish pivot is very scarce. Last night, in the Los Angeles victory over the player’s former team, the Toronto Raptors, Ibaka was seen with one of his bizarre clothes that give a lot to talk about on social networks.
After the game, Lue again lowered expectations in the face of a potential return of the player in the next few days: “We do not have a return date. He’s going through some things and he’s trying to fight and improve ”.
Despite the long absence of almost two months, the coach wanted to ask for patience about the state of his pupil: “I know Serge has done everything in his power to get back, 5 or 6 hours of rehab a day.”
Ibaka’s problems in the lower back seem serious and perhaps chronic. Hence the extreme care with which the Clippers treat information about the Hispanic-Congolese player, although it is always said that his status “progresses.”
He has hinted at his recovery on social media, where he has been mostly quiet from time to time.
On April 23, Lue said that Ibaka had returned to step on the courts to play three versus three and four versus four situations, something that he also repeated at the beginning of May. Everything indicates that the pivot could even miss the start of the playoffs if his situation does not improve much.
Since his injury, Ibaka accumulates 26 matches of absence and has not traveled with the team on trips away from Staples Center. In the 39 matches played this course, the pivot has averaged 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in 23.6 minutes of play being a key piece in Lue’s quintet.
In his latest posts on social media, the 31-year-old reported that he has been vaccinated against Covid-19 and left some messages about his recovery process:
“Take care of your body, because it is the only one you will have” or “a winner is just a loser who tried one more time” were some of his motivational messages in this difficult period of his professional career.
We’ll see if Serge can come back this season, as without him the Clippers lose a very important asset in their run to the ring.