Zach Collins has beefed up over the course of the summer, cranking up the weights and gaining 20 pounds of muscle while progressing on his ankle rehabilitation. The Portland Trail Blazers center is now at 250 pounds — a weight more fitting for a 7-footer that has a clear size disadvantage against more robust players at his position.
Last week his ankle was cleared for non-contact workouts and he's now begun daily contact workouts as of Monday.
“It’s still healing,” Collins said of his ankle, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I feel very confident in it, but it’s still weak, and pushing off of it is not the same as the right. I did contact again today (Tuesday) and I’m not as quick or explosive, but I’m still doing what I want to do. That just tells me it’s going to take a little time.”
It will be a long process until Collins can fully heal from his injury, and while he's been working on his body for this upcoming season, those extra 20 pounds will only demand more torque from his ankle to support.
“The first day, I would do a drill and I wasn’t very good,” Collins said. “Then the next day, I would be better. The next day, even better. By day four, I had it down and was ready for more. So I just had a feeling I was improving in a lot of areas. Offensively, I feel like I made a pretty good jump.”
Collins isn't discouraged by any means, and he will keep plugging away at his recovery until he's ready to take the floor for the Blazers again, now with no Meyers Leonard in his way.
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