Kobe Bryant will have surgery Saturday afternoon to repair the torn Achilles tendon in his left leg and his recovery timetable is expected to take 6-9 months, according to longtime Los Angeles Lakers trainer Gary Vitti.
"When something like this happens, everybody wants to know why and there's not always a reason why. If you look at our season, it's been a nightmare," Vitti said following Lakers practice Saturday. "We had a player come in with a surgery, which was Dwight Howard. Then we had Steve Nash break his leg. Then we had Steve Blake have an abdominal surgery. Then we had Jordan Hill with a hip surgery. Then we had Metta (World Peace) with a knee surgery. We also had Dwight with a (torn) labrum in his shoulder. Antawn Jamison will have surgery after the season is over on his wrist. So, when you try to look at the whys, it's bad luck."
Vitti said Bryant would be immobilized up to a month or more following surgery. If Bryant were to recover on the short end of the timetable Vitti provided, he could be able to play for the start of the 2013-14 season.
"That's the plan," Vitti said.
Bryant's injury was described as a "complete rupture" by Vitti.
"It's gone," said Vitti. "So, it has to be sewn back together."
Bryant fell to the floor with 3:08 remaining in the fourth quarter while being guarded by the Warriors' Harrison Barnes. Bryant had played every minute of the game up to that point, scoring 32 points in the process -- including back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game with 3:45 remaining.
"I made a move that I make a million times and it just popped," said Bryant after the game.
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