Between now and the start of the NBA’s regular season, we are bound to hear a myriad of different reports concerning the status of Kobe Bryant’s achilles tendon.
The most recent update from Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News has Bryant being a few weeks away from being able to run at a 100%.
Kobe Bryant continued his rehab on his surgically repaired left Achilles tendon, as expected, the latest involving running at 75 percent of his body weight on a treadmill. Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti expects Bryant remains a “few weeks away” before advancing to full-weight bearing running, though he acknowledged that’s a “nebulous term.” …
“He’s doing well and has had no setbacks,” Vitti said Thursday at his trainer’s office at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo in a wide-ranging interview with this newspaper. “There’s no projected date. He’ll be ready when he’s ready. Nobody has a crystal ball on this thing.”
Bryant must first complete full-weight bearing running drills before advancing to on-court basketball activities. Vitti offered no timetable on how long it would take for Bryant to complete each stage, let alone whether he will appear in the Lakers’ season opener Oct. 29 against the Clippers. It’s safe to pencil Bryant out of the beginning of Lakers’ training camp, beginning Sept. 28, though it’s not clear if he could play in at least the tail end of the Lakers’ eight-game preseason schedule that ends on Oct. 25.
So much for Bryant being ready for opening night.