After Successful Surgery, Kobe Bryant Is Out For Nine Months
- Updated: January 29, 2015
(Via @Lakers)
The news came today that Kobe Bryant will officially be out for the season following a successful surgery to repair his torn rotator cuff.
According to the Lakers official website, Kobe Bryant is said to need a full nine months to recover from the injury and surgery. This will be Bryant’s third season-ending injury. This means he will return right before the 2015-16 season, if all progresses the way it should.
ESPN.com reports the following on the player’s surgery:
“Neal ElAttrache and Steve Lombardo performed the two-hour surgery at the Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.
“I expect Kobe to make a full recovery, and if all goes as expected, he should be ready for the start of the season,” ElAttrache said in a statement provided by the Lakers.
The Lakers formally declared Bryant out for the season by acknowledging the expected recovery time for his injury but also effectively confirmed he won’t retire and will attempt to play his 20th season in the fall. Bryant, who will be 37 years old this summer, is the NBA’s highest-paid player at $23.5 million this season, and he is under contract for $25 million next year.
“In my mind right now, he’s coming back next year, unless he tells me something different,” coach Byron Scott said at practice Wednesday. But I think the biggest thing with Kobe, as long as [the media are] saying that he’s done, he’s going to come back,” Scott said. “I think he proved his point this year that he still has a lot left in the tank. He’s still one of the best players in the league.”
Kobe Bryant now joins the season-ending injuries club with members in Steve Nash, first-round pick Julius Randle and swingman Xavier Henry.
We are wishing the speediest of recoveries for Bryant and we can’t wait to see him back next season!
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