Kobe Bryant suffered a torn rotator cuff in the loss to the New Orleans Pelicans last week and will have surgery for the injury on Wednesday, according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Kobe Bryant to have surgery on torn rotator cuff Wednesday morning.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 26, 2015
Despite the announcement of surgery, there is still no official timetable as to when Bryant will return and an estimate on his return will be determined after Wednesday:
We should have an estimate on Kobe Bryant's return after surgery on Wednesday.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 26, 2015
At 36-years-old, the injuries are piling up for Bryant as he tries to figure out how he’ll end his Hall-of-Fame-caliber career in the NBA. Kobe has openly admitted to considering retirement this season with the superstar simply unable to physically get through the grind of an 82-game season.
Although Bryant has said that retirement has crossed his mind and the money he’s set to earn in 2015-16 ($25 million) doesn’t matter, it would be uncharacteristic for the five-time NBA champion to walk away in this fashion. Kobe seems adamant that he wants to call it a career on his own terms rather than being forced to due to injury.
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Regardless of everything he’s been through this season, Bryant is still an incredible basketball player and doing things no one anticipated he’d be able to at an advanced age.
The speculation surrounding Kobe’s future will be a hot topic of discussion for the rest of the season and throughout the off-season. Many will make the argument that Bryant should simply walk away, but he still might not be ready to do so.
[divide]Lakers Kobe Bryant Tears Rotator Cuff