Pau Gasol says his foot soreness expected, not sure about return

Talking briefly in the Lakers locker room before his teammates took on the Sacramento Kings, Pau Gasol said the recent soreness in his recovering foot was not a significant setback.

Gasol tore the plantar fascia in his right foot on Feb. 5 during a game against Brooklyn. The Lakers estimated his recovery would take a minimum of six to eight weeks.

After ramping up his activity with hopes of returning by Tuesday, Gasol felt enough pain in his foot to see a specialist, (Dr. Kenneth Jung.

“He said it’s to be expected as you raise the intensity, the amount you’re putting on the foot is going to create a little soreness,� said Gasol. “It’s a pretty normal reaction from the injury that I had.�

The Lakers power forward will continue to push toward a return but didn’t want to guess when that will be.

“I don’t want to put any dates so there are no disappointments or surprises,� said Gasol.

Following their visit to the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, the Lakers are off until Friday, when they host the Washington Wizards.

Gasol progressed rapidly from crutches to treadmill to the practice floor.

“To be expected I guess, [things] were going way too smoothly,� he said. “It’s normal. It should be OK.�

To make matters worse, Gasol has been battling a cold since Tuesday, when the Lakers played at Orlando.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.