In a recent interview discussing his latest Nike signature kicks, Kobe Bryant admitted that his fractured left knee isn’t responding very well to treatment. Bryant says rehab has been very slow, which makes his return to the court this season even more doubtful. Per the LA Daily News (via Kustoo):
“It’s progressing slowly. It really tests my patience,” Bryant said. ”There’s only so much I can do. I find myself relegated to a bike. The first few weeks, it’s cool. I’m getting a good workout in. Third or fourth, I’m thinking I need to do something else. I want to play. I want to run. I want to do something different. But you got to do what you got to do.”
The Lakers plan to reevaluate Bryant on Friday, perhaps giving him medical clearance to advance his rehab beyond stationary bike exercises. But the Lakers anticipate Bryant would need a couple of weeks to progress fully toward full-court practices. Add the days up, and Bryant could return as early as the beginning of April, but that presumes he doesn’t experience any setbacks.
Bryant missed the first 19 games of the season while rehabbing his left Achilles tendon. He then appeared in six games, averaging 13.8 points on 42.5 percent shooting, 5.7 turnovers and 6.3 assists, a far drop from his career 25.5 points on 45.4 percent shooting, three turnovers and 4.8 assists. Bryant then suffered what could wind up being a season-ending fractured left knee injury after colliding with Memphis forward Tony Allen on Dec. 17, 2014.
Does Bryant have any sense when he’ll ultimately heal?
“It’s really tough to say,” Bryant said. “These injuries are really weird. I’ve never had this kind of fracture before. You’re almost at the mercy of the bones. There’s nothing you can do to speed up that process. You almost have to sit and just wait and wait for the bones to heal and then go from there.”
