Friday, October 24 2008 -- 3 players of the Los Angeles Lakers have been pestered by injuries. They are Kobe Bryant, Josh Powell and Sasha Vujacic. Powell is having a strained left hamstring and hence could not participate in the game played on Thursday.

The guard of the Lakers, Vujacic, who has signed a 15 million USD and 3 year contract on 28th July 2008, has an avulsion fracture in his left ankle. Due to this it was impossible for him to take part in the preseason games. His aim is to get some minutes in the preseason finale. A foot specialist examined him on Thursday. Vujacic said “It feels better. There’s no sharp pain, but its still a little bit irritated. I just have to face it and play with it. Tomorrow I’m going to do the full practice and then we go from there. I’m going to be there and I’m going to be in uniform, which I’m excited about. But if the coach doesn’t play me, that’s not my decision. We’ll see.”

The reigning MVP of the NBA, Kobe Bryant was injured on Tuesday night when he tried a rebound and collided with Powell in the game against Charlotte Bobcats. Due to the residual swelling in his right knee, he could not participate in the preseason game of his team on Thursday night. However, he expects that he would be able to play in the preseason finale on Friday night against Oklahoma City at Ontario. He said “I feel fine. I lifted weights this morning for my legs, did lunges, jumps and all that kind of stuff, and I felt fine. I felt strong. So I’m all right. I just want to get the swelling out. Instead of playing on it tonight and having the swelling still be there and having to manage it. I mean, that’s stuff you do during the regular season – not in preseason.”