WATCH: LeBron James Collapses in Pain After Ankle Injury, Out Indefinitely

LeBron James
Michael Owens/Getty Images
Dylan Gwinn

LeBron James fell to the floor in pain Saturday night after suffering a high ankle sprain that will take him out of action indefinitely.

The Laker’s star and foremost political authority on all things, crashed to the floor while grabbing his lower leg after Atlanta’s Solomon Hill rolled over his ankle.

“He got up and briefly stayed in the game hitting a 3-pointer, but after the ensuing defensive possession, James called a timeout and knocked over a chair before limping to the locker room,” the New York Post reports. “He was ruled out for the remainder of the game.”

Doctors determined the injury to be a high ankle sprain and have ruled James out indefinitely.

James took to Twitter and said that the injury had left him hurting “inside and out.”

“Nothing angers and saddens me more than not being available to and for my teammates!” James tweeted after the game on Saturday. “I’m hurt inside and out right now. The road back from recovery begins now. Back soon like I never left.”

James’ teammates were quick to voice their shock over the injury as well.

“I haven’t necessarily seen him scream and squall like that, probably ever, not even with that groin,” Laker Kyle Kuzma said, recalling when James missed 17 games with a groin injury two years ago. “It had to hurt a little bit, for sure.”

Lakers coach Frank Vogel was more guarded and did not reveal details about how James dealt with the injury in the locker room.

“The mood of the team is we’re disappointed we lost, and we’ve got to come back and get one tomorrow,” Vogel said. “I won’t disclose what LeBron was like (in the locker room). It’s in-house.”

James has been notoriously resistant to major injury throughout his 18-year career. His ankle sprain marks only the second time in recent memory that he will miss a significant number of games. The injury also spells trouble for the NBA given that James is the reason why most people watch their games.

The Lakers lost to the Hawks 99-94.

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