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Raptors' Nurse: Gasol has 'fully healed' from earlier injuries

Brian Sevald / National Basketball Association / Getty

Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol has apparently overcome his injury woes from earlier in the 2019-20 season.

"As far as I'm aware, he's fully healed," Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said, according to Sportsnet's Michael Grange. "And as you know he looks great. His skills look fantastic as well. He looks like he's in good shape. I don't see any issues."

Gasol has appeared in just 36 of the Raptors' 64 games so far this season, averaging 7.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game when in the lineup. The 35-year-old missed 12 games from mid-December to mid-January due to a left hamstring injury, returned for eight games, then missed an additional 15 straight contests after re-aggravating the injury.

He returned to the lineup with 15 minutes off the bench on March 8, the Raptors' penultimate game before the league went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11.

Gasol has come back from the extended, unexpected midseason break looking noticeably leaner:

Nurse said Gasol credited his transformation to better overall consistency in his lifestyle.

"(Y)ou take out the games and all the long road trips and the late night flights, and all the things that factor in making fitness and nutrition a little harder, take all those out and he just said it was a consistent rhythm, eating at the same time every day, and eating very healthy obviously, and all that stuff," Nurse said.

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