Scottie Pippen Quotes

I've decided to listen to my doctors and get the procedure I need on my knee. USA Basketball said I had to do what was best for me. They want me to be obviously as healthy as possible so I can continue to play this game at a high level.

I was kind of at the turning point in my career with my knee. I was dealing with the struggles of trying to make the transition back on the court consistently and not a game here, then sit a game.

Once the surgeon said the skull is strong enough with the helmet on, I decided to return to training with the team.

But in 2000, the injuries really started to kick in and my elbow gave a lot of problems. At the end of the year I had to take 20 months off before I could come back into the game.

I was on the sideline with a knee injury and when I came back, I wanted to play at the best level I could. And that's the case for a lot of players, they want the chance to play against the best competition.

An injured Zlatan is a pretty serious thing for any team.

I know with my knee injury, I didn't have the type of medical technology we have today. If I could've had what we had now, I probably could've been back out in three months. I didn't have that.

Anyone who was been injured for a long period can emphasise how happy you are when you are able to be back on the pitch.

I'm really not an injury-prone player. I just had that one injury that took, like, two years.

It was tough to quit football. But after I was injured, I didn't want people paying money to see only half a John Matuszak.

Your cruciate ligament, like many long-term injuries... when they come back they're expected to be what they were before the injury. While fit it sometimes takes a little bit longer for some than others.

It's always good to hear when players aren't out for as long as you thought they would.

My knee injury was something serious. To go six months before I could even jog is pretty serious.

Every time I sprinted 100 per cent, my hamstring broke. But I knew if I didn't sprint 100 per cent, I could keep on playing, so that's what you do. I was just lucky it was discovered in America and I haven't had one problem since. I feel I can run past people again and that feels nice.

I've had three injuries, and one took from 2016 to 2017 for me to recover. Three months I was out because I wasn't perfect, and I lost a lot of games for this injury.

I damaged my hamstring at the London Olympics and had to stop training for five months. At times, I thought my career was over.

Thankfully, hamstring injuries don't take that long to heal.

The person who's had the biggest impact on my career is Rick Celebrini, the physiotherapist.

The physio side probably stemmed from the knocks I got as a player.

I struggled quite a long time with my backhand, which was one of my best weapons before my surgery. It took me a long time until I regained full confidence in it again and only tried to keep the ball in play at the start of the '09 season.

For most of my career I've been very lucky to have avoided major injuries.

Whenever you're coming off a serious injury, it takes time to heal.

My own basketball background was ripping up my ACL in a lawyer's league.

The only way to get a three to four-month break would be to tear a tendon or a hamstring or something like that.

I made the varsity team as a freshman at 15. Then, I tore a tendon and never fully recovered. I was a shortstop, then third baseman, then second baseman.