Kobe Bryant Denies Returning to LA Lakers Basketball Too Early After Injury
Kobe Bryant does not believe that his knee fracture has anything to do with his previous torn achilles tendon.
Bryant, the 35-year-old Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, returned to the basketball court earlier this month for the first time since Achilles tendon surgically repaired in April. After recently injuring his knee that could leave him off the court for over a month, Bryant is denying that he returned to his professional sport from injury too early.
"I don't think one [injury] had anything to do with the other. I mean, we evaluated it pretty extensively," Bryant insisted, according to Sports Illustrated. "The fact of the matter is, any of us can get hurt at any moment. The key for us as athletes is to block that fear out, and when you have injuries that fear is enhanced."
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The Lakers star insisted that his unfortunate injuries could happen to any athlete.
"You kind of put yourself under a microscope and you start thinking about it too much. It can happen to anybody," Bryant said. "So you just have to tune that noise out and go out there and perform."
The NBA star recently signed a two year extension with the Lakers. Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni previously warned fans about getting ahead of themselves expecting Bryant to return to full form earlier this month.
"There's a lot of steps to be taken, so I just think we need to be cautious," he told the LA Times previously. "There will be some struggles early. There's no way he comes back with everything. But at the same time, he is 10 percent better than most people."
However, Bryant has the full backing of his entire team which includes management.
"To play 20 years in the NBA, and to do so with the same team, is unprecedented, and quite an accomplishment," general manager Mitch Kupchak said of Bryant in a statement about the team's decision to re-sign the player.
