Kobe Bryant Set for Finger Surgery

The summer will be all about resting and getting healthy for Kobe, with the number one priority being to fix that nagging index finger. From ESPN: “Kobe Bryant played the majority of last season with his right index finger taped up in a split after suffering an avulsion fracture in December and doesn’t plan on doing it again. Bryant said he would likely have surgery on his finger when he returned from watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. ‘I’m going to talk with our staff here and [Lakers general manager] Mitch [Kupchak] as well and come up with a timeline to take care of some of the injuries that have been nagging me and things we need to address,’ Bryant said. ‘We’ll do that before I leave.’ Bryant was also bothered during the season by his twice-surgically repaired right knee but said it wasn’t really an issue after he got it drained during the playoffs. ‘The finger [was the problem],’ Bryant said. ‘The knee was fine. Once we drained the knee it was fine or fine enough. The finger though was a constant problem. It was always around. I had to take the wrap around my entire finger and the hard splint underneath it so feeling the basketball was really tough. It was always a constant battle to adjust to it.’ Bryant said his surgery would ‘probably be something invasive’ but didn’t ‘expect it to be anything major.”‘