NBA News: Cavs’ Kyrie Irving says road to recovery is tough, ‘but not anything I can’t handle’
Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving was left out of the team’s first day of training camp as the star point guard continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Irving admitted his rehabilitation and recovery has not been easy, but the three-time NBA All-Star vowed that his journey to his NBA return is not something he could not overcome.
“Repairing or getting back from any knee injury is going to take a lot of physical and mental will,” Irving said, reports the USA Today. “So it’s testing, but not anything I can’t handle.”
Cavs general manager David Griffin confirmed there is no definitive return date for Irving yet, and insisted that there is no rush to get the 23-year-old guard back on the court for games. Griffin also revealed the team is planning to bring back injured players to the fold “very slowly” and “very intentionally.”
Irving, who spent much of his summer rehabbing from the surgery on his fractured left kneecap, did not participate in the team’s first day of the training camp in an attempt to stay with the original plan for his recovery. Cavs coach David Blatt said Irving’s progress to full health is going to be on a whole different scale, making the team hold the 6-foot-3 point guard out of the training camp session at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Meanwhile, Kevin Love, who is also recovering from a dislocated shoulder suffered early in the NBA playoffs, was able to go through the Cavs’ entire practice. Love also went through some body pad work after Tuesday’s practice, which is part of the plan in hopes of getting him prepared when NBA tips off next month.
"Condition feels great and I'm sure it will keep coming along until the 27 th ,” Love told Cleveland.com . “See what the training staff and doctors tell me and whatever the coaching staff asks we will just go from there."
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