The Los Angeles Lakers announced that Anthony Davis was ruled out of Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after getting hit in the left eye.

Davis got off to a nice start in the first quarter with four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, getting the Lakers off to an early lead.

He had a monstrous putback dunk at the end of the frame, however, and took an elbow to the eye from Kyle Anderson in the process. Davis went down in immediate pain and then was forced back to the locker room to get it checked out.

The Lakers really struggled in Davis’ absence in the second quarter, falling down big to a tough Minnesota team. L.A.’s defense predictably struggled without his anchor, and then he was ruled out for the second half.

What makes this eye issue concerning is that it’s the third time Davis has been hit there in recent weeks. A similar thing happened against the Golden State Warriors and he was forced out of that game as well. It remains to be seen if he re-damaged the same eye issue or if this is a new one, but it definitely will be something worth monitoring as the Lakers head into the final week of the regular season and then potentially the Play-In Tournament or playoffs.

The Lakers have really struggled defensively without Davis in the lineup this season, so hopefully it is not a serious issue that forces him to miss upcoming important games.

Anthony Davis: Lakers aware of Western Conference standings

What makes this Davis eye injury even worse is that all of these games are important for seeding purposes in a loaded Western Conference.

After a recent win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Davis stated that the team is aware of where they stand with only a few games remaining.

“We know the position that we’re in and the opportunity that we have,” Davis said after the win over Cleveland. “Today was a big opportunity to move up to eight, which we did, but I think what’s understood doesn’t have to be explained, and we all know the position that we’re in. What we can do with four games left, so just keep stacking, keep focusing on one game at a time, and continue to build on what we’re doing, especially on the defensive end.”

The Lakers are not in danger of missing the Play-In Tournament, but they still could fall as far down as 10th.