until Pau returns. According to an interview with Pau, he stated that he expects to be playing agian in 15 days! This is great news! He is definitely not sitting out the rest of the season!
I just hope the Grizz get him back atleast a week before the playoffs... He is a baller when he is healthy.
This article was in the Commercial Appeal on Pau's injury. Good News!! Looks like he is coming back after all!! ________________________________ Gasol's back on court Griz works out, but no timetable set for return By Ronald Tillery Contact March 16, 2005 Pau Gasol could be coming to a basketball court near you. And his release may happen soon. Advertisement If the Grizzly forward's possible return from injury seems like a much-anticipated movie or album debut, then you're not alone. There has been plenty of hype surrounding the subject. Tuesday afternoon, the 7-foot Spaniard made a promotional appearance of sorts. Gasol, on the injured list since Jan. 25 with a sore left foot, moved a step closer to resuming his basketball career by participating in a three-on-three, half-court game with teammates Bonzi Wells and Dahntay Jones opposite Jake Tsakalidis, Ryan Humphrey and Andre Emmett. He had been cleared by team doctors at the Campbell Clinic for contact drills, and could participate in a full-contact practice as soon as Thursday. X-rays taken Monday showed enough healing in Gasol's left foot (which has a slight hairline fracture) that doctors are no longer concerned about him suffering a break and requiring surgery. "They're pretty confident that that's not going to happen," Gasol said after his teammates prepared to play a road game tonight against the New Orleans Hornets. "I want to be confident, too. I don't want to be afraid of anything. There's a little thing still there. It hasn't gone anywhere so that leaves it open to a bigger fracture. "But it feels OK. It's just that my body feels a little weird from being out all of this time. The doctors told me that I have to feel real pain for me to be worried. It's going to be a little tender because I've been in a boot for a month and a half. I have to get the feeling back and that doesn't happen in a day or two." Gasol didn't overextend himself during the workout. In fact, Gasol appeared so out of breath that he struggled to talk without sucking air afterwards. "I wasn't trying to do anything crazy or dominate," Gasol said. "I was trying to get a feel of the ball and see what it feels like to move and cut laterally. ... It was just to get a feel of doing stuff with contact. "The most important thing was for me to start to get confidence back and a basketball rhythm back. I'm trying to get better in my conditioning." Griz coach Mike Fratello sounded encouraged but cautioned that no timetable has been set for Gasol's return. Gasol's physical workout was simply a step. Nothing more. Nothing less. "Now they want to see if the foot gets hot or pain comes back," Fratello said. "Then, we'll go from there. It's a chance to get him going and take the first steps toward coming back. You always have to remember the days he's missed. "You just can't come back. It doesn't work that way. But this is more than he did last week." The Griz have carefully monitored Gasol's condition as to not risk long-term complications. Rightfully so. Gasol agreed to a six-year, $86 million contract extension (maximum allowed) just before the start of training camp. That, plus the nature of Gasol's injury, makes for deliberate decisions. Because there essentially is a slight fracture in Gasol's foot, the Griz want to avoid major surgery that could possibly lead to several follow-up operations. Gasol reported that the doctors were optimistic for the first time in nearly two months. "It looked a little better," Gasol said of the X-ray. "So it didn't get worse with the running I did last week on the road trip. It allowed me to keep moving forward. That's what the doctors told me. "I'm going to try to feel contact and see how it feels. I'll try to go by that. If one day it starts hurting, I'll take a step back and see how it develops."
