BEIJING: Kobe Bryant’s recovery from an Achilles injury will likely keep him out of his team’s season-opener in two weeks, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni said yesterday.
Bryant , 35, suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles’ tendon last April and only recently returned from Germany where he had an innovative procedure on an arthritic right knee.
“No, I don’t think so,” D’Antoni told reporters when asked if Bryant would be ready for the Lakers’ 2013-14 season opener versus the Los Angeles Clippers on October 29. “It’s an ongoing process, but that would be tough.”
Bryant, a five-time National Basketball Association champion and 15-time All-Star, was with his team for yesterday’s pre-season game in Beijing and watched from the Lakers bench as the Golden State Warriors enjoyed a 100-95 win.
The two teams will play again tomorrow in Shanghai. REUTERS
