Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant does not have to go very far to seek advice on how to go about recovering from a serious Achilles injury.
After all, current teammate DeMarcus Cousins tore his Achilles in January of 2018, but was able to return at full strength one year later. And unfortunately, Durant may want to take the full year to recover, as well.
But another person of comfort for Durant is San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay, who himself sustained an Achilles injury in 2017, and reached out to Durant following the announcement that he was having surgery to repair the ruptured tendon.
Gay told ESPN's “The Undefeated” writer Marc J. Spears that Durant should take things slowly, and just to acclimate himself with how his body responds:
“The biggest thing is finding your rhythm and knowing your body,” said Gay, who will be a free agent again this summer. “As long as you can continue to heal and get your rhythm back, the only thing that will be new is figuring out your body.”
He also says KD will be fine:
“People forget that he is 7 feet tall and shoots the way he does,” Gay said. “Even if he can’t be completely himself initially, he still will be better than most players. That’s the worst-case [scenario]. I know he will be fine.”
Durant has probably been more vocal than the Warriors with respect to his health. He posted an Instagram message following his injury in Game 5, then posted again after he underwent the surgery on Wednesday.
In that vein, he seems ready to embrace the challenge of a long recovery.
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