The new season has started off on the wrong foot for Max Strus. The forward had to leave the preseason game between the Clippers and Warriors due to some physical discomfort just five minutes into the contest, an issue that will keep him sidelined until the regular season begins.
That information was reported by Shams Charania, ESPN’s reporter, who confirms that the former Cavaliers player has suffered a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot, which will force him to miss at least four weeks. Once that period passes, with the league already underway, he will be reevaluated to determine his status, assessing whether he is ready to return to action or if he still needs more time to recover.
LA Clippers guard Max Strus suffered a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot during Sunday’s preseason game and will be reevaluated in four weeks, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 5, 2026
This could bring back some ghosts for Strus, who is coming off a season in which he began sidelined due to a foot injury, in that case the left one, which grew more complicated than expected and prevented him from returning until mid-March. That said, this case does not seem to be as severe, and everything points to Max being back on the court during November.
In any case, the winger will have to wait to make his official debut with the Clippers, whom he joined this summer as part of the move that sent Peyton Watson to Cleveland. And although the Angelenos do not head into this year with grand competitive aspirations, it benefits both sides for Strus to return soon: for him, because it is his last year on the contract; for the franchise, because he is a potential trade candidate in exchange for some much-needed draft capital.
