A blockbuster trade that left the Brooklyn Nets too far away from a potential title made the Phoenix Suns top favorites again. Any team that has Kevin Durant in the lineup has a chance to be the champion, although he hasn’t been available recently.

When the Suns made that move with the Nets, they knew their new player wasn’t going to be able to play right away. Durant had a knee injury while in Brooklyn that took him out for quite some time, even making him miss the All-Star Game.

KD returned from that issue to showcase all his talent in his new team. However, that didn’t last much since yet another injury forced him to stay out of the court. His status for the game against Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday is now clear.

Will Kevin Durant play tonight against the Lakers?

The 2014 NBA MVP was ready to make his home debut on March 8 vs Oklahoma City Thunder, but he got injured in the pre-game warmup. A sprained ankle is what made him miss a stretch of six games that started with that one. The Suns have a 2-4 record without KD since then, so his absences don’t go unnoticed.

Durant is not playing tonight for the Suns vs the Los Angeles Lakers. He didn’t even make the trip to LA with the team, according to Mark Medina of the NBA’s official site. His ankle injury will leave him out of this clash, although he is not the only player that won’t be there. Former N°1 overall pick Deandre Ayton will also miss the game with a hip injury.

When is Kevin Durant returning from injury?

The timeline for his return was around 2-3 weeks, so any setback could have made him unavailable for the playoffs. But fortunately, the Suns were given an encouraging update this week. Durant should be ready to go by the end of March or early April, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.