Kobe Bryant says he’s on course to shatter the “normal timeline for recovery from an Achilles” and hinted it’s almost a given he’ll be back in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform by opening night or soon thereafter.
Speaking in China during a recent Nike promotional tour, Bryant told reporters “the surgical procedure was different and because of that the recovery time has been different. Three-and-a-half months, I can already walk just fine. I’m lifting weights with the Achilles just fine and that’s different. So we don’t know what the timetable is going to be. It’s kind of new territory for us all.”
Though management once thought the earliest he might return could be around Christmas, they now plan to reevaluate his condition by the end of the month and set a course from there. Setbacks can be common with Achilles recoveries, to so any event the team is expected to proceed with caution.
Bryant was injured on April 14 game against Golden state and instantly elected to have surgery. During his recovery, he’s often sought the advice of soccer star David Beckham, who suffered a similar injury in 2010 and was able to make a sooner than expected return to the field.
"He and I talked for quite a bit about his process, and his recovery," Bryant previously told the L.A. Times. "He hasn't had any issues with it since. He's won several championships since the injury, so I'm pretty encouraged by that."
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