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LeBron James receives 'precautionary' injection, will be ready for opening night

Although it's 'unlikely' he'll play in the preseason, LeBron James should be ready for opening night.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

This hasn't been the greatest preseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, Cavs' forward LeBron James received an injection in his back, leaving him unlikely to appear in either of the two remaining preseason games. Despite the injection, James will be ready for the Cavs opening night game against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 27.

James had a similar injection last year that forced him to nine games last year, a stretch in which the Cavs went just 1-7. According to Lloyd, having the injection done before the season is the better option going forward:

James received a similar anti-inflammatory shot in January when he was shut down for two weeks and responded so well that the plan was always for him to have another one at some point, one league source said. By doing it now, James won’t miss any significant time

As Lloyd noted, James won't miss any significant time with this injection. With the Cavs already down Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, James is making the necessary steps to be fully healthy for the season. James has even stressed the importance of team health, even joking about it throughout the preseason.

Alongside the news of Kevin Love making his return to the court this Sunday against the Toronto Raptors, it appears the Cavs are one step closer to getting healthier -- something that haunted the Cavs in the NBA Finals last year against the Golden State Warriors.