ducks
10-26-2005, 02:38 PM
Amaré won’t return until he’s sure
By Jerry Brown, Tribune
October 25, 2005
Amaré Stoudemire would like nothing more than to be back on the basketball court four months from now, joining the Suns for their late-season playoff push and proving his surgically repaired left knee is better than ever.
But to Stoudemire, the timetable offered by doctors and therapists is just a number on a calendar. The only true litmus test will be his own — the day when he feels like his dominant self again.
As with less serious injuries earlier in his career, Stoudemire isn’t willing to jeopardize his long-term future for the chance to come back from his microfracture surgery if he is at less than full speed.
"Four months is the minimum time frame,’’ Stoudemire said Monday after his third day of rehab exercises at America West Arena. "But in my mind, I want to make sure I’m 115 percent before I’m looking to get out there. It’s all about the healing process.
"I want to come back healthy and better than ever. No matter how long it takes, that’s what we’re going to do."
Asked directly if he expects to play this season, Stoudemire said, "It’s possible."
"If I can heal up the way we’re expecting, then I probably will play this year. If not, then probably not,’’ he said. "I want to make sure I’m me before I play. Once I start playing, there are going to be back-to-back nights and (stretches) where we play seven games in nine or 10 days. I want to be ready to handle all that."
Suns officials and medical staff have also said Stoudemire won’t be rushed, that they must err on the side of caution with a star player who doesn’t turn 23 until next month.
Stoudemire said what was "some knee pain’’ intensified in the days leading up to training camp and then got "a lot worse’’ when the team began two-a-day training camp workouts in Tucson. After consultations with several specialists, Stoudemire said he went into the Oct. 11 surgery well aware that microfracture was a distinct possibility.
"I was prepared either way mentally," he said. "I had the mind frame that I would recover strong, that I’m a young athlete and that I will bounce back."
And Stoudemire is waving off comments by players like Philadelphia’s Chris Webber, a microfracture patient who recently warned it will take two years before the knee feels normal again.
"I don’t listen to that stuff. My body is totally different than everyone else’s," he said. "Webber and those other guys had surgery later in their careers. It was more intense because of the area the lesion was in. My problem wasn’t that bad, but it was something we wanted to take care of and come back in four to six months."
The 2006 NBA playoffs begin six months from this week.
By Jerry Brown, Tribune
October 25, 2005
Amaré Stoudemire would like nothing more than to be back on the basketball court four months from now, joining the Suns for their late-season playoff push and proving his surgically repaired left knee is better than ever.
But to Stoudemire, the timetable offered by doctors and therapists is just a number on a calendar. The only true litmus test will be his own — the day when he feels like his dominant self again.
As with less serious injuries earlier in his career, Stoudemire isn’t willing to jeopardize his long-term future for the chance to come back from his microfracture surgery if he is at less than full speed.
"Four months is the minimum time frame,’’ Stoudemire said Monday after his third day of rehab exercises at America West Arena. "But in my mind, I want to make sure I’m 115 percent before I’m looking to get out there. It’s all about the healing process.
"I want to come back healthy and better than ever. No matter how long it takes, that’s what we’re going to do."
Asked directly if he expects to play this season, Stoudemire said, "It’s possible."
"If I can heal up the way we’re expecting, then I probably will play this year. If not, then probably not,’’ he said. "I want to make sure I’m me before I play. Once I start playing, there are going to be back-to-back nights and (stretches) where we play seven games in nine or 10 days. I want to be ready to handle all that."
Suns officials and medical staff have also said Stoudemire won’t be rushed, that they must err on the side of caution with a star player who doesn’t turn 23 until next month.
Stoudemire said what was "some knee pain’’ intensified in the days leading up to training camp and then got "a lot worse’’ when the team began two-a-day training camp workouts in Tucson. After consultations with several specialists, Stoudemire said he went into the Oct. 11 surgery well aware that microfracture was a distinct possibility.
"I was prepared either way mentally," he said. "I had the mind frame that I would recover strong, that I’m a young athlete and that I will bounce back."
And Stoudemire is waving off comments by players like Philadelphia’s Chris Webber, a microfracture patient who recently warned it will take two years before the knee feels normal again.
"I don’t listen to that stuff. My body is totally different than everyone else’s," he said. "Webber and those other guys had surgery later in their careers. It was more intense because of the area the lesion was in. My problem wasn’t that bad, but it was something we wanted to take care of and come back in four to six months."
The 2006 NBA playoffs begin six months from this week.