Los Angeles star continues to rehab his surgically repaired Achilles tendon.
If you’re a Los Angeles Lakers fan and you’ve got tickets to the first game of the upcoming NBA season, don’t get too excited about seeing Kobe Bryant play.
After undergoing surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon late last season the latest word out of the Lakers camp is the likelihood Bryant will play early in the season is remote.
Despite talking up his recovery and saying he had it on his mind to be suited up for Los Angele’s first game of the year when the play the Clippers on October 29, Bryant is still a few weeks away from being 100 per cent.
Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti said the shooting guard was running on a treadmill with 75 per cent of his body weight at the moment.
“He’s doing well and has had no setbacks,” Vitti said.
“There’s no projected date. He’ll be ready when he’s ready. Nobody has a crystal ball on this thing.”
Bryant will need to resume running with full weight on his left leg before resuming his duties on the court, with the 35-year-old likely to play at the earliest at the tail-end of the Lakers eight-game pre-season schedule.
However, given how top-heavy the Lakers will be this year and how much they are set to rely on Bryant to make the playoffs in 2013-14.
It is feasible the team would prefer to risk not rushing him back for the first 2-4 weeks of the season in order to have him fresh and ready for a potential run at a playoff seeding.
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