NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal shocked the sports world when he posted himself lying in a hospital bed this past weekend. Many were worried, sending their hopes and prayers to the big man. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Fortunately, it looks like the collective wishes of all Shaq’s fans, friends, etc. were answered.
According to TMZ Sports, the reason O’Neal is currently in the hospital is to repair a hip injury that had been bothering him for some time now. Everything reportedly went off without a hitch, and the big man currently on the mend. In a recently posted image, O’Neal tagged two of his colleagues from “NBA on TNT”—Ernie Johnson and Candace Parker.
“Miss y’all,” is what he wrote. Parker commented shortly after to express her love and appreciation for her coworker. “Love ya big Fella” with a heart emoji. In addition to being a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Parker is a two-time WNBA Champion, a two-time WNBA MVP, and winner of the 2008 WNBA Rookie of the Year.
The amount of support and love being sent out to one of the NBA’s greatest has been nothing short of heartwarming to see. At this time, it’s currently unknown how long the big man is going to be out for according to TMZ Sports. That said, O’Neal reportedly stated on his podcast “The Big Podcast with Shaw” that he projects April 16th to be the day he can potentially return to the active front. Whether that ends up being the case, remains to be seen.
Additionally, Shaq announced that he plans to go on a diet and hit the gym after his surgery. There’s a photo of O’Neal with an 8-pack reportedly circulating the internet. Personally, I hope he takes all the time he needs to come back. Can’t rush these things, obviously.
Hopefully, the surgery was a success. Shaq says he hopes to be back around mid April in time for start of NBA playoffs.
