LEBRON JAMES is listed as day-to-day with his strained left groin after the results of his MRI exam came back clean, the Los Angeles Lakers announced on Wednesday.
James isn’t expecting to miss much time based on his tweet shortly after news broke. The Los Angeles Lakers star used an emoji to display his thanks.
“Dodged a bullet! Sheesh. (Thanks) to the almighty above! #BackInNoTime,” James tweeted.
The Lakers reportedly expect James to miss at least a few games, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Los Angeles faces the Kings in Sacramento on Thursday night before starting a four-game homestand against the Clippers the following night.
The veteran forward was injured Tuesday in LA’s upset 127-101 win over the Golden State Warriors as he dribbled toward the basket and slipped. His right leg swung underneath him as he lost his footing, putting pressure on his left leg and groin as he reached forward to try to maintain possession of the ball.
James walked gingerly off the court and video showed him wincing near the bench and telling trainers “I felt a pop” regarding the injury.
“I don’t know (if I’m going to miss a game),” James said, per Yahoo’s report and prior to undergoing the exam. “We”re going to see what the MRI says, see how I feel the rest of the day today. I’m going to be around-the-clock tomorrow rehabbing and we’ll see how I feel on Thursday when we go to Sac.”
Lakers coach Luke Walton said the team wouldn’t rush James back.
“Obviously, we want him back soon as possible,” said Walton. “But we also will be very cautious when we bring him back.”
The 33-year-old is averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in his first season with the Lakers. He has appeared in all 34 games this season and did not miss a game last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. — Reuters

LONDON — Michael Schumacher is in Formula One’s thoughts as the seven-time world champion approaches his 50^th birthday, five years on from the near-fatal skiing accident that has left the Ferrari great fighting brain injuries behind a wall of secrecy.
The German, still the sport’s most successful driver in terms of wins (91) and titles, will reach his half century on Jan. 3.
Formula One’s focus will be on highlighting the remarkable career and talents of a man whose fame stretched well beyond the racetrack, and who enthused a legion of fans in the 1990s and early years of this century.
The Ferrari museum in Maranello, Italy, is planning a special exhibition, opening on his birthday and lasting for a few months, “both as a celebration and a mark of gratitude to the most successful Prancing Horse driver ever.”
Mercedes, the last team Schumacher drove for in Formula One before retirement in 2012, will have some of his cars on display at their museum in Stuttgart.
Formula One management will also dedicate a week to Schumacher on its social media platforms, including exclusive interviews with many of those who were part of the German’s Formula One story.
“We are going to celebrate Michael’s birthday,” said a spokesman.
Schumacher remains a big part of the sport’s narrative, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton now a five-time world champion with 73 wins and getting ever closer to the German’s greatest records.
Hanging over it all, however, will be a strong sense of sadness — just as every anniversary since his Dec. 29, 2013 fall while skiing off piste near Meribel in the French Alps with his family.
Schumacher hit his head on a rock and spent months in an artificial coma after being rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
“We think a lot about him,” Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff told Reuters. “He was an exceptional sportsman, and he’s missed.
“As a seven-time world champion he’s missed within the paddock, he’s missed as a consultant to us, somebody we’ve been looking up to. We hope that his recovery continues to be positive and that’s the most important thing.”
CONSIDERABLE CONJECTURE
Just how positive, or otherwise, is a matter of considerable conjecture and one met with resolute silence from his wife Corinna, the family and those who always formed part of Schumacher’s innermost circle.
They would prefer the world remembered Schumacher as the champion he was, rather than the different kind of fighter he has become.
Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s trusted assistant and spokeswoman who now also manages the racing career of his son Mick, continues to guard his privacy with polite but firm determination.
“In general the media have never reported on Michael and Corinna’s private life,” she said in 2016. “When he was in Switzerland, for example, it was clear he was a private individual.
“Once in a long discussion Michael said to me, ‘You don’t need to call me for the next year, I’m disappearing.’ I think it was his secret dream to be able to do that some day. That’s why now I still want to protect his wishes in that I don’t let anything get out.”
It is clear that if Schumacher were to have made a miraculous recovery, the good news would have been known quickly enough. The fact nothing has been said, in itself speaks volumes.
Amid enduring media speculation, be it rumored moves for treatment elsewhere or concerning Schumacher’s general mobility, any shred of bona fide information from behind the walls of the family’s lakeside Swiss mansion is news.
One such snippet was provided by Swiss archbishop Georg Ganswein, who told the mass-circulation German magazine Bunte recently about a 2016 visit to Schumacher.
“I sat opposite him, held his hands and looked at him. His face is just as we know it, the typical Michael Schumacher face. Only a bit fuller,” he said.
“He feels that loving people are around him and care for him and, thank God, keep the all too curious public away. A man who is sick needs discretion and understanding.”
Jean Todt, Schumacher’s former Ferrari boss who is now president of Formula One’s governing body, is a frequent visitor.
He revealed last month that he had watched this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix with Schumacher.
“There are pictures of him all over my offices and apartments. The time with Michael will always be remembered as the best of my life,” the Frenchman told reporters. — Reuters

LIVERPOOL’S six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table “means nothing” at the halfway stage of the season ahead of tough tests against Arsenal and defending champion Manchester City in the next week, manager Juergen Klopp said.
Liverpool thrashed Newcastle United 4-0 at Anfield on Wednesday to move on to 51 points from 19 games as the Merseysiders extended their advantage over the chasing pack with an eighth consecutive league victory.
Early pacesetter City lost, 2-1, at Leicester to fall seven points adrift following a third defeat in four matches, leaving Klopp’s side in a strong position to claim a first title since 1990. However, the German was quick to dismiss the advantage.
“That means nothing… we play Arsenal and City,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “Good that we have six points more than other teams but that is what we wanted to do all the time, create a basis for the rest of the season. Now the first part is over.”
Liverpool has made its best start to a season having extended its unbeaten run to 19 matches, but Klopp said his squad should not get carried away, with an in-form Spurs side now its closest challenger after City’s recent slump.
“We want to create our own history so the first time in the Premier League unbeaten, we conceded seven goals, that is good. Numbers good, good situation, but 19 games to go,” added Klopp, whose side hosts Arsenal on Saturday and visit City on Jan. 3. — Reuters