Injury Report: Douglas-Roberts On Being Home, Achilles Rehab

Rowan Kavner

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – The Clippers are on the road, yet Chris Douglas-Roberts feels at home.

With trips on this seven-game road trip to Memphis and now Detroit, Douglas-Roberts has gone to one city he played at in college and another he grew up in, respectively. He said it’s nice to be home, even if he can’t play while rehabbing his strained Achilles.

“The biggest thing is being healthy,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I look forward to being healthy. I’ve been saying that since I’ve been hurt; I look forward to being healthy for the first time in a long time. Sometimes, you’re going to make some stops that you might not be able to make later. This is one of them.”

Most of Douglas-Roberts’ family is in Detroit, where he was born and grew up. Douglas-Roberts attended Cass Technical High School and Northwestern High School in Detroit before playing college ball at Memphis.

The Clippers stay in Birmingham, about a 40-minute drive from Detroit, and they didn’t arrive until late Tuesday afternoon. With a shootaround Wednesday morning and a game Wednesday night, it can be stressful to try to fit all the visiting into such a short time frame.

But Douglas-Roberts is glad he was able to see his friends, his mother and his brother Tuesday night.

“I went down to Detroit,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I consider some of my friends my family. I had seen a couple of my homeboys, and I just spent a lot of time with my mother and my brother last night.”

Players are accustomed to being away from their families during the holidays. Even though it wasn’t quite Thanksgiving, Douglas-Roberts at least got a taste of being around those closest to him with the stop in Detroit.

“We didn’t eat or anything, but it was just, the company was good enough for me,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I rarely get to see my brother, I rarely get to see my mother. So I wish we could stay a little longer, but hey, this is the job.”

That’s a job he’s hoping to continue soon.

Douglas-Roberts’ last game was against the Warriors on Nov. 5, but that wasn’t when he got hurt. He knew the opportunity in front of him at small forward with the Clippers, and he tried to fight through Achilles pain since the preseason before finally realizing he had to shut himself down.

For now, there’s no immediate timetable on his return. He’d been advised to stay off his foot to help it recover, but he’s slowly ramping up the rehab process.

“Just a day-by-day thing,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I’m still not doing nothing laterally yet. I’m still only doing things forward. I’m spot shooting now, at least. But I still can’t do anything laterally, nothing with impact.”

Despite not being able to play in front of his hometown and family and friends, Douglas-Roberts said he’s “thankful for everything” during this holiday season and remains upbeat.

“I don’t ask for anything,” he said. “I’m thankful for the good things. I’m especially thankful for the tough times, because I feel like the tough times, you’re supposed to learn a lesson. If you come out with a lighter heart, you’ve passed. I know when tough times come around like this for me, I know something really good is coming. I’m just thankful for life.”

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