Injured Laker Peeler Out at Least a Month

The Lakers, losers of 16 of their last 20 games and already without two key players, got more bad news Wednesday when tests showed that starting guard Anthony Peeler has a stress fracture in his lower left leg. It will sideline him for at least a month.

Peeler is expected to be put on the injured list in the next day or two, and the Lakers hope to sign someone to fill his spot on the roster. If that doesn’t happen today, they will have only nine players for tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns at the Forum.

Sam Bowie is already on the injured list after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Jan. 5 and is expected to be out at least four more weeks. Doug Christie, the starting small forward and the Lakers’ leading scorer, has missed the last three games because of a sprained left ankle and will probably miss at least three more. Antonio Harvey will be sidelined another week or so because of a strained hip muscle. Neither Christie nor Harvey is on the injured list.

This will be Peeler’s second stint on the injured list this season. He sat out the first five games of the season because of tendinitis in his right knee before returning to become the Lakers’ second-leading scorer.

Tuesday, he sat out the 103-88 loss at Seattle with what was believed to be shin splints. Upon further examination, a stress fracture of the fibula was discovered.