Lakers star Anthony Davis is not allowed to play after his recent eye injury

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Anthony Davis says he has recovered from being stabbed in the left eye by Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl and his recent eye injury still hasn’t prompted him to wear safety glasses.

The Los Angeles Lakers “Star big man said Tuesday that he will play Wednesday night against Memphis (10 ET, ESPN). Davis ignored the potential effects of the injury, although his left eye was noticeably discolored and red after practice at the Lakers’ training complex.

“I’m going to go about my day and do what I need to do,” Davis said. “Next is about getting more sleep.”

Davis said he had “no idea” whether his last injury is another corneal abrasion. He suffered that injury last March after being stung in a game against Golden State, but didn’t miss any time.

“A few scratches in my eye,” Davis said. “As far as the medical term and all that, I’m not 100 percent sure, but I’m cleared to play.”

Every time Davis gets poked in the face by opponents, the nine-time All-Star is asked if he would consider wearing goggles or goggles like similarly dominant big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Amare Stoudemire. Before the usual question was even answered Tuesday, Davis replied, “No.”

“I don’t want to, and the doctor said I don’t have to,” Davis said. “If it gets to the point where the doctor orders me to wear protective glasses, then of course I will do that.”

As a top high school prospect, Davis wore goggles for about three years. He briefly tried wearing goggles again during the Lakers’ championship run in the Florida pandemic bubble in 2020, but quickly gave up.

Davis was injured midway through the third quarter against Toronto on Sunday night when he made a sensational one-handed block of a dunk attempt by Poeltl that accidentally hit Davis in the face with his offhand. Davis didn’t return to the game, but the Lakers did scored a 123-103 win about the Raptors.

Davis is off to an excellent start to the regular season, leading to early Kia MVP talk for the 31-year-old. He is second in the NBA with 31.2 points per game, along with 10.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 blocks for the Lakers (6-4).

Davis’ backup is Jaxson Hayes, who scored a season-high 12 points against Toronto. But the Lakers are stretched thin at center with the continued absence of Christian Wood, whose recovery from left knee surgery recently suffered a setback.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Wood had experienced knee pain upon returning to practice in recent days. Wood had to take a break for two months.

“We’re going to downsize,” Redick said. “We will have an update in about four weeks.”