Comeback by Lakers’ Lamp Hits Snag; Shoulder Injury Puts Him on Sideline

Four games into his improbable comeback in the National Basketball Assn., Jeff Lamp of the Lakers faces an uncertain future again.

Lamp, who signed as a free agent with the Lakers after running into General Manager Jerry West at a health club last summer, will be out at least six weeks with a sprained left shoulder.

Lamp, hurt in a second-quarter collision in Thursday night’s game against the Clippers, Friday underwent an arthogram--a procedure in which dye is injected into the injured area. The arthogram did not indicate significant injury to his rotator cuff, but Lamp will undergo arthroscopic surgery Wednesday to determine whether there was cartilage damage.

Lamp, a former No. 1 draft choice in 1981 who has been with four other NBA teams--Portland, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Indiana--and spent last season playing in Italy, earned a roster spot with the Lakers when second-year forward Billy Thompson was slow to recover from a knee injury.

Thompson, who has been out since last April, isn’t close to returning, so a Laker spokesman indicated that General Manager Jerry West will probably sign another player in the next couple of days.

Laker forward Kurt Rambis, who has a sprained right ankle, accompanied the team to Oakland and may play tonight against the Golden State Warriors. That game will start at 8. A win tonight will mark only the second time the Lakers have opened a season with five straight wins. The last time was in 1980-81.