Once the blockbuster trade to bring Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers was made official, the biggest concern for the Lakers was his recovery from back surgery.
Even though Howard is only 26 and hasn’t had injury problems throughout his NBA career, the recovery from this surgery is a long process with results that may impact his game moving forward.
Fortunately, reports indicate that Howard’s recovery is going as planned. No major setbacks as of yet, but the team is confident that he’ll be on the floor in the near future and back to form as arguably the best center in the NBA.
There’s still no timetable for his return or whether or not he’ll be in the starting lineup for the Lakers in the season-opener against the Dallas Mavericks on October 30.
In an effort to be ready for the Lakers’ first regular season game against the Mavs, Howard had his first session with Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti on Monday according to Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register:
“Details are scarce and Lakers spokesman John Black declined to comment, but Howard on Monday had his first hands-on session with Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti and head physical therapist Judy Seto at the team’s training facility in El Segundo.”
The initial recovery time for Howard’s back surgery was set at about six to seven months according to Ding. Howard underwent the surgery back on April 20 and has been fairly active since then with appearances at Dodgers games and an Adidas promotional tour through China. The Lakers center also made an appearance at the Staples Center for MTV’s Video Music Awards.
All indications seem to be that Howard’s recovery is going very well and on schedule. Howard ending up on Lakers Coach Mike Brown’s roster for the matchup against the Mavs isn’t out of the question, but still remains up in the air as we move closer to the start of the NBA preseason on October 7.
