LeBron James hoping to return from groin injury for Thursday's game against the Clippers

The Los Angeles Lakers’ prolonged downward spiral may soon be coming to an end. Anthony Davis wants a trade with the Lakers an early favorite to land him, and now LeBron James could be back as soon as Thursday.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times’ Tania Ganguli, the Lakers are optimistic that their superstar will return to the court in three days when they face off against the Los Angeles Clippers in a key game with playoff implications.

James has been out with a groin injury since he left the team’s Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter. Since that game, the Lakers have gone 6-10 and fallen from the No. 4 seed in the West to two games out of the eight seed.

James’ availability has been a bit of a mystery lately with his agent, Rich Paul, claiming that he would have been playing two weeks ago if it were the playoffs. Now, he will potentially suit up on the 31st if his body can hold up well during practice. Groin injuries are notoriously hard to come back from because they can easily aggravated.

The Lakers had already been readying for James’ return as he had his first full-contact practice on Saturday since suffering the injury. James even took part in a scrimmage on Monday and put up shots after practice.

Technically, head coach Luke Walton, who remains on the hot seat, has not ruled James out for Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, but that seems unlikely. But considering how the Lakers’ young players have fared without him, a return against the No. 8 seed Clippers will be crucial to improve upon their playoff odds, which FiveThirtyEight puts at 25 percent.

More from Yahoo Sports:

• Saints player still upset: His Pro Bowl shirt says it all
• Golfer loses nearly $100K for questionable penalty
• Funny ending to rain-soaked, blooper-filled Pro Bowl
• Reigning MVP backs out of White House visit