Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio talked with reporters Friday for the first time since he was cleared for full-contact practice on Wednesday.
Although he doesn’t know when he’ll return to the lineup, Rubio has been fantasizing about getting back to the game since he had major knee surgery about eight months ago. His first true practice with his team could come as early as Saturday.
“I don’t know how I’m going to feel, if I’m going to feel great, if I’m going to feel weak. I don’t have any idea. I have it all in my mind, ‘Ooh, I want to practice. I want to dunk.’ But I don’t think I can,” he said.
Rubio says the hardest part of his long recovery is patience.
“I think the most difficult part is being patient,” Rubio said. “You can’t do more than they said because you can get hurt. Being patient is hard. It’s hard but it is what it is. You just have to work as hard as you can and that’s it.”
Once back on the court, doctors are advising Rubio to restrict his minutes during games, to which he responds, “I say okay, but once I’m out there, I don’t think I can handle that.”
