Stephen Curry has described the persistent right knee injury that has sidelined him for the Golden State Warriors’ previous 27 games as “unpredictable”. In a lengthy news conference on Saturday, Curry detailed the injury ahead of his expected return on Sunday night.
Unexpected Setbacks During Recovery
Curry initially thought he would be out for a week or ten days. However, he said that every time he got on the court or tried to push it in that first month, there was always a reaction, and he realised it wasn’t healing as fast as he thought.
The pain and swelling in Curry’s right knee first appeared on 24 January during a workout. He played through it for a few games before leaving the lineup on 30 January.
Curry has missed more than two months with what is termed as “runner’s knee”, but advanced to 5-on-5 scrimmaging this past week and received clearance from the medical staff to make his return against the Houston Rockets at home on Sunday night.
He will officially be listed as questionable, but is expected to play assuming there aren’t unexpected setbacks in the next 24 hours.
Adjusting to a ‘New Normal’
Curry said that the first thing he thinks about every day is how his knee is going to feel, which has been a struggle throughout the whole process. He hopes it stays as good as it feels now, but it is a matter of getting out there and seeing.
During his absence, Curry turned 38 in mid-March. He has one more season left on his current contract and has spoken about wanting to continue his career beyond that. He was asked whether this persistent knee injury was something he will need to manage for the rest of his playing days.
Curry responded that there’s nothing structurally wrong with his knee, so he’s not compromised. However, he added that it is a new normal.
Frustrations During the Healing Process
Curry stated that this experience was different from his past ankle, knee, or tailbone injuries because there was no defined timeline, and he couldn’t push through it or be on the court while it was still in the late stages of healing.
Curry initially thought he would return in mid-February after the All-Star break. He later wanted to return for a March road trip out East. He also experienced a setback a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta when it had felt as if he was nearing a return.
Curry said that he would start running and doing his normal workout, but toward the end of the session, he would start to feel the pain creep back in, and the next day it would be awful.
Warriors’ Play-In Spot
Curry returns to a Warriors team that has fallen down the standings without him, going 9-18 in his 27-game absence. This has placed Golden State as the 10th seed in the Western Conference with five games left.
Curry said it doesn’t matter much what the Warriors do in their final five regular-season games. They will be in the bottom side of the play-in bracket and will need to win two elimination games on the road.