Yesterday, Kobe Bryant discussed how he’s “shattered” the normal rehabilitation for his Achilles tendon rupture and during the second stop of his China tour, Bryant went into more detail about his surgical procedure in front of 25,000 fans.
According to Bryant, his procedure was much different than the usual procedure, which generally has a recovery period of 9-12 months. He described the procedure as both “simple” and “innovative.” Here’s the video, courtesy of NTDTV:
Though Kobe acknowledges that it was a calculated risk, it has also sped up the process and Bryant is already able to walk and lift weights:
“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.”
However, because the procedure was different and innovative, Bryant isn’t sure if he’ll 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.”
While everything sounds encouraging right now and he is able to do toe curls with marbles, Kobe will meet with team doctors at the end of the month to determine if he’s able to do more basketball-related activities.
Bryant will obviously try his absolute best to return by the start of the season, but the important thing is to take his time so he can play the remainder of his career at a high level. This will be an interesting season for both Bryant and the Lakers, as most are counting them out.
Bryant averaged 27.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.0 assists this past season.
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