Luka Doncic's recurring injury comes back to bite him at worst possible time

After seeming like the Dallas Mavericks were finally fully healthy for a training camp, the injury bug has crept back in and ruined the chance for the Mavs to have a full lineup heading into the preseason and regular season later this month.

Typically not everyone plays in the preseason to begin with, but having everyone ready to go and beginning to build that chemistry early on would have been huge. Chemistry was a huge reason that Dallas was able to reach the NBA Finals last year, and several of the new players noted that the chemistry of the team was one of the many reasons that they signed with Dallas this summer.

The injury bug has bit Luka Doncic, and this isn't a new injury for the Slovenian superstar.

Luka Doncic diagnosed with left calf contusion, raising early concerns

According to Mavs PR, Doncic suffered a "hit" during workouts this week, causing him to have a left calf contusion. Doncic will be re-evaluated in one week.

This one-week timetable likely puts Doncic out of the team's first preseason game on Monday, and this injury couldn't have come at a worse time. Thankfully it was before the regular season began, but these soft tissue injuries have been no joke for Doncic over the years.

He knows better than anyone that these soft tissue injuries can keep him out for weeks at a time, and in the end, it comes down to pain management. Doncic is a warrior and plays through injuries when needed, but him already injuring his calf before the season even starts is far from ideal for the Mavs.

Doncic suffered a left calf injury last preseason, and he also strained it right before the 2022 NBA Playoffs in the regular season finale. This caused Doncic to miss about two weeks of action and the first three games of Dallas' first-round series against the Utah Jazz.

Doncic's left calf has been vulnerable to injuries over the past few years, and him injuring it once again isn't the best sign heading into the 2024-25 season. From what the Mavs said about this injury, it doesn't seem to be too serious, but injuries add up.

Doncic was hobbled with injury after injury during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, and his performances were considerably hindered because he wasn't able to play the way he wanted to. He was laboring for most of that playoff run, and after finally getting the rest he needed, he's injured again.

Doncic has exactly 22 days to get healthy for Dallas' season opener against the San Antonio Spurs, and that seems like plenty of time for what we know about this injury at this juncture. Missing out on a valuable training camp in Las Vegas is unfortunate for him, and we should know more about the severity of this injury at some point within the next week or so.