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There isn’t a hotter-button issue in sports right now than speculation surrounding the return of injured Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic, who has been sidelined with a grade 2 hamstring strain since April 2.
Shortly after Doncic sustained the injury, he reportedly flew to Spain to seek specialized cell therapy from Javier Barrio, a sports doctor at his former club, Real Madrid, in an effort to expedite his recovery process. During his trip to Europe, Doncic also visited Slovenia to see his two daughters and made an appearance alongside tennis legend Novak Djokovic during a Real Madrid EuroLeague game on April 16.
Despite all the evidence of Doncic visiting Madrid, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst made bizarre claims on Tuesday, questioning the veracity of Doncic’s trip to Spain.
Why Luka Doncic Visited Spain
“I am a big actions over words guy. When Luka got hurt, Luka went to Spain for treatment,” Windhorst said on “The Rich Eisen Show,” using air quotes.
“I’ve heard of [players] going to Germany. I’ve never heard of going to Spain. … When they sent him overseas, that was not an indication of a minor hamstring injury. That was like, ‘You’re not going to be doing anything for a few weeks anyway so go ahead and go to Europe.’”
Slovenian reporter Iztok Franko — who’s very well-connected to both Doncic and the Real Madrid franchise — took serious issue with Windhorst’s comments.
“I havent heard much about treatments in Spain as well…until one of my Spanish friends reminded me Christiano Ronaldo apparently did platelet-rich plasma therapy for similar injury (very common in football) with help of Pau Gasol’s physio back in 2016,” Franko wrote on X, in response to Windhorst’s claims.
I havent heard much about treatments in Spain as well…until one of my Spanish friends reminded me Christiano Ronaldo apparently did platelet-rich plasma therapy for similar injury (very common in football) with help of Pau Gasol’s physio back in 2016. https://t.co/pIEWZEUrWG
— Iztok Franko (@iztok_franko) May 6, 2026
Luka Doncic Injury Update
One thing can’t be disputed: Doncic’s decision to seek alternative treatment did not help expedite his recovery. The Slovenian is now approaching the six-week mark in his rehab process and has yet to start running or participate in full-contact workouts.
It’s worth noting that legendary former Lakers trainer Gary Vitti had warned Doncic last month that PRP injections may not be very effective in fixing soft-tissue injuries like a grade 2 hamstring strain. Vitti cited Kobe Bryant’s visits to Germany while claiming that the “Black Mamba” did not necessarily benefit from PRP treatments.
“We thought it was going to be sort of this panacea miracle cure, and then it wasn’t,” Vitti said of Bryant visiting Germany for PRP injections in the early 2010s.
“And it doesn’t mean it doesn’t help, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, but it certainly wasn’t, you know, the end-all that we thought it was going to be.”
In Doncic’s absence, the Lakers struggled to generate quality offense against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Tuesday’s Game 1 loss. After the game, LeBron James admitted that the Lakers need Doncic to overcome the reigning NBA champions.
“We have a guy that averaged 37 a game (not in the lineup),” James said after the loss.
“There’s the issue right there,” James added.
Luka Doncic has already been ruled out for Lakers vs. Thunder Game 2, which tips off at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
