After missing the last 27 games for the Golden State Warriors, two-time MVP Stephen Curry is finally set to return this weekend, for Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets.
In a chat with the media, the Warriors star reflected on the injury and the long recovery process he never saw coming. According to Steph, he thought it’d be a 10-day absence, a far cry from the 27 that he ended up missing.
“It was more of a mental thing at first, meaning I didn’t know enough about it, and I thought I was going to be out a week. Ten days max,” said Curry, via Anthony Slater. “I thought it calmed down, and every time I got on the court or tried to push it in that first month, there was always a reaction. You just knew it wasn’t healing as fast as you thought. The patience then was tough, because it’s really just one of those injuries you have to let rest. There’s nothing you can push through or be on the court while it’s healing.”
Curry, 38, hasn’t played since January 30th after getting diagnosed with “runner’s knee.” It involves localized swelling and pain in the leg, leading to discomfort and limited mobility. It’s an unorthodox injury that doesn’t involve the usual recovery process.
“It’s just a different experience than most injuries I’ve had that have had a very defined timeline and a very defined process, “Curry added. “Every day I wake up, and the first thing I think about is ‘How does it feel?’ So that unpredictability was definitely a struggle throughout the whole process. Even still now, because as good as it feels now, it’s just a matter of getting out there and seeing.”
Between his age and extensive injury history, the Warriors have been taking a cautious approach with Steph. In this case, while there was no structural damage, they didn’t want to put him back until he felt completely normal again. Humbling as it may be, this approach is the new normal for Steph as he plays out the final leg of his career.
“There is nothing structurally wrong with my knee,” Curry said. “So it’s not like I’m compromised out there. It is a new normal, though. It’s just a matter of understanding what I need to do off the court to make sure everything around my knee is strong. I will take full advantage of the offseason, whenever it is, to do a full reset. And then you kind of figure out what it looks like going into next year.”
At this point, Steph knows his reality. The Warriors are not running the league like they used to, but it doesn’t mean they’ll stop trying. If they can just get out of the play-in and enter the first round with a healthy Steph, Draymond Green, and Kristaps Porzingis, then they’ll have a puncher’s chance against any team in the league.
After that, though, is where things get interesting. With targets such as LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, the Warriors have ambitions to bring a star that will insert their name into the title picture. But before their dreams can be realized, Steph will have to be healthy, and that means monitoring his health closely while he’s still playing.
