by Marcel Mutoni / @ marcel_mutoni
Los Angeles Lakers superstar guard Kobe Bryant has remained very confident as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon, saying he’s well ahead of schedule, and giving the front-office reason to believe he’ll suit up on Opening Night (if not before.)
In reality, Bryant doesn’t know for sure when he’ll return to the court, but he seems to believe that tremendous progress has been made so far.
Per NTD TV:
NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant said on Saturday, that he “shattered” the normal rehabilitation timetable for an Achilles tendon injury. […] Bryant, speaking at the second stop of his China tour, said his Achilles tendon now feels strong and the surgery paid off well. “It was pretty innovative, the procedure that we did, in terms of how we attach the tendon and where it was torn. And you know, it’s really complicated procedures that they normally do—and taking tendons from the big toe and bring it—and, you know, I don’t want to bore you guys with nasty stuff. But we really simplified the procedure, and kind of took a risk with it, a calculated risk, and it’s been very successful for us.”
The NBA giant did not say whether he would be ready to play pre-season. “We don’t know. That’s the thing about this injury, it’s that the surgical procedure was different, how we did it was different. And because of that, the recovery has been different, the timetable has been different. You know, the normal timetable for recovering for an Achilles—we’ve shattered that. Three and a half months, I can already walk just fine, I’m doing and lifting weights with the Achilles just fine, and that’s different. We don’t know what that timetable’s going to be. It’s just kind of, it’s new territory for us all.”
Kobe has plenty of motivation to play again soon, and the Lakers have made it clear they’re not interested in tanking next season.
No matter how confident he may sound about the recovery, Kobe Bryant’s return date remains up in the air, but Lakers fans have to be pleased with their star’s sporadic (and strangely entertaining) medical updates.
