Malone Hopes for Fast Return

Karl Malone was among the last to leave the gym Monday afternoon, a habit that earned him prominence in the NBA and one that he retains even at 40, emphasized by his occasional absence.

Only now, the situation had changed.

One of the ironmen in league history, Malone will sit out at least three games after suffering a sprained right medial collateral knee ligament, the Lakers announced. Malone was hurt Sunday when Phoenix forward Scott Williams fell on Malone’s right knee.

As the rest of the Lakers sauntered off Monday for their flight to Oakland, Malone stayed behind, received some treatment and vowed to return to the lineup “sooner [rather] than later.”

In 18 seasons, plus his first two months as a Laker, Malone had sat out 11 games, only six because of illness or injury. He didn’t lose a game to injury in the ‘90s. And, yet, by the time he has sat out the next three -- tonight’s at Golden State, Thursday’s against Houston and Sunday’s against Boston -- he will have sat out four of his first 28 Laker games, and four of the last nine.

He had never sat out more than two games in a season. The last time he sat out consecutive games was April 21 and 22, 1989, because of a sprained ankle.

Malone will be examined again next Monday by team physician Steve Lombardo, who on Monday detected the sprained ligament on an MRI film and recommended Malone take at least a week off. Malone said Lombardo had told him the worst-case scenario would be one or two months off, but that surgery had not been discussed.

The Lakers will keep Malone on the active roster for now. If he were put on the injured list, he would have to sit out at least five games. Center Jamal Sampson or forward Brian Cook could be activated to provide the team frontcourt depth, perhaps as early as today.

As Malone attempted to jog the hallways beneath the stands at Staples Center on Sunday night, minutes after suffering the injury, he said Magic Johnson reminded him of his duty here. Eager to return to the floor, Malone said, Johnson told him, “Just remember, May and June.”

“I don’t accept that, because I like to be out there,” Malone said. “But, I don’t want to be out there hurting the team.... We’ll make decisions in a week.”

After 18 long hours, during which his knee throbbed and swelled, and after tests and consultations, Malone sat in the fourth-floor offices of the Kerlan-Jobe/HealthSouth Orthopaedic Clinic, and suddenly gripped the tabletop.

“Oh, earthquake,” he said, shaking his head.

He returned to El Segundo, where physical therapists began the daily treatments that will replace his playing time, and then some.

“It’s frustrating,” Malone said. “You expect to punch the clock every night. Sometimes we feel like we’re superhuman. I still feel like that a little bit. Just kind of a little chink in the armor right now.

“It could have been worse, I think.”

Indeed, Coach Phil Jackson said the sprain was “good news,” considering Malone had complained of a “wobbly” feeling in his knee. The organization would not take a breath until Lombardo ruled out a catastrophic injury that would require surgery. And although the Lakers kept the term of the recovery vague -- the news release said Malone would be out indefinitely -- there was great optimism, given Malone’s history.

“You know it hurts [him],” Jackson said. “We have to anticipate we’ll give him a little bit of a break and, hopefully, miraculously, he can recover in a minimal amount of games.”

The Lakers would not speak to the specifics of Malone’s MRI exam, but when asked about the injury, Clipper team orthopedist Tony Daly said, “If there is no ACL or MCL damage, then he should not be out too long. It all depends on the looseness of the knee.... Sprained knees are one of the hardest injuries to predict when an athlete can return. An athlete could be out a week to 10 days or, sometimes, he can be out a lot longer.”

Daly added that Malone’s injury was more common in hockey.

“Those guys get hit from all angles but a lot of times, they can just strap on a brace and still play,” he said. “With basketball, it is a little different because players have to cut and jump.

“But with someone [like Malone] who keeps himself in shape, his recovery could be real fast, compared to a player that doesn’t take care of himself. With [Malone], you know that he’s going to rehab.”

Slava Medvedenko replaced Malone in the starting lineup Dec. 7, when Malone served a one-game suspension for elbowing Steve Nash in the mouth, and could again over the next week or so. Jackson also will pry more minutes out of Horace Grant, who has served the first 25 games primarily as a backup center. Also, small forwards Devean George, Bryon Russell and Luke Walton have adequate size to match up against most power forwards.

Already, with less than a third of his first season in Los Angeles played, Malone has become a team leader in matters of toughness and determination.

“Just himself, how he carries himself, how he goes out there and leads by example,” said Russell, who played nine seasons in Utah with Malone. “We just gotta pick it up. We’ll be missing a double-double, and we need to get that from some players, including myself.”

Malone averaged 14 points, 9.5 rebounds and more than 32 minutes in 24 games. As his teammates left, he wished them well, told them he’d see them when they got back.

“If they win, I’ll get well,” he said, smiling slyly. “Make sure they still need me.”

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Karl Malone, the “Mailman,” is expected to sit out the longest stretch of games in his 19-season NBA career. Games that Malone has sat out each regular season:

*--* 1985-86... 1 1995-96... 0 1986-87... 0 1996-97... 0 1987-88... 0 1997-98... 1 1988-89... 2 1998-99... 1 1989-90... 0 1999-2000... 0 1990-91... 0 2000-01... 1 1991-92... 1 2001-02... 2 1992-93... 0 2002-03... 1 1993-94... 0 2003-04... 1 1994-95... 0

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Times staff writer Lonnie White contributed to this report.