The return of Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis remains weeks away, but he will reportedly take the next step in his rehabilitation process in the coming days.

Davis has missed the past 13 games due to an injured right foot, dealing with a bone spur fracturing off his navicular bone as well as a stress reaction.

Before he hopped off the floor during the Lakers' December 16 win against the Denver Nuggets, Davis was having his best season in a Los Angeles jersey.

He is averaging 27.4 points and a career-high 12.1 rebounds, while shooting a career-best 59.4 per cent from the field and being one of four players averaging at least two blocks per game (2.1).

A report on Monday from ESPN's Dave McMenamin states Davis "plans to begin the ramp-up process to return to play when the team returns to Los Angeles this week".

The ramp-up process will involve aquatic pool workouts and running on an altered-gravity treadmill to keep most of the weight off the big-man's foot as it continues to heal.

It is believed the ramp-up process will take at least a couple of weeks before the Lakers begin to pinpoint a return date.

Los Angeles lost four of their first five games with Davis sidelined, but an incredible stretch of play from LeBron James ignited a run of six wins from seven prior to Monday's loss against the Nuggets, where James was sitting out for rest reasons.

They began the season 2-10, but have recovered to 19-22 and now sit only 1.5 games behind local rivals the Los Angeles Clippers (21-21), who occupy the sixth seed in the Western Conference.