Finally, the Milwaukee Bucks ended their four-game losing run by defeating the Boston Celtics, who were playing well, 104-91. The excitement is diminished by Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s soleus strain, even though supporters will still be happy with the team’s victory. Damian Lillard described his personal experience with the same condition by saying that it “hurt” to have a soleus strain.
In the third quarter of the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics Eastern Conference game, Giannis Antetokounmpo inbounded the ball and headed into the frontcourt. He stumbled and grabbed his left calf. He headed to the locker room shortly after that and didn’t come out to the floor for the rest of the competition.
Giannis left the Bucks game after an apparent leg injury in the 3Q pic.twitter.com/3RFrSMy9uv
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 10, 2024
Damian Lillard speaks about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury
After injuring his calf a few weeks prior, Damian Lillard also had a grade one strain on the soleus muscle at the start of the 2022–2023 season. After the game, Lillard talked about his experience with the injury to Eric Nehm, the beat reporter for the Bucks. With a professed “high pain tolerance,” Dame claimed the injuries “hurt.”
“That sh*t hurt. It hurt. And it makes sense that — When I did it, usually I’m able to walk things off. I feel like I have a high pain tolerance and when I did it, I started to walk, it wasn’t just that it was that painful, it was that the muscle just can’t handle it. So, I think once it calmed down, you kind of figured out a way to limp around it, but it’s a weird feeling,” Lillard said.
Subsequently, Lillard discussed the subject that Wisconsin supporters would be more interested in hearing about: the recuperation and rehabilitation period. According to the sharpshooter’s personal experience, he had to sit out two weeks of play before being able to return to the lineup because of a soleus strain.
“I think it was like a game or two after I came back (from calf injury), I did my soleus. And then after that, it was like two weeks. For me, it was like two weeks and then I came back and played,” Lillard told Nehm.
The list of NBA players that have recently suffered a soleus strain is relatively short. Damian Lillard happens to be one of of those players.
"That sh** hurt." – Lillard
Here is the full exchange I had with him about that injury after the game: pic.twitter.com/lRaNZm39nY
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 10, 2024
The news on Antetokounmpo’s injury will be eagerly anticipated by fans. The Bucks will find it incredibly difficult to repeat the kind of success they enjoyed in 2021 if the team’s statement is negative.
