Three games after returning to the starting lineup, Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio said he still sometimes feels pain in his surgically repaired left knee and is still struggling with his strength and confidence.
And while none of that should be surprising -- Rubio is 10 months removed from surgery to repair two ligaments in the knee -- the 22-year-old point guard admitted his road back to 100 percent health has been longer and more difficult than he had hoped.
"I'm talking with guys that had the same injury. The first game they were texting me like, 'Man, it took me three months [of playing] to be back and the first game you did it,' " Rubio said Tuesday of his emotional return to the court Dec. 15.
Since then, removed from the adrenaline of his return, Rubio has had to cope with the tough task of trying to play at a high level while at the same time regaining his strength. He has dealt with groin muscle pain and back spasms that kept him out of four games in early January.
"I feel good, but there is a little pain in the knee," Rubio said. "They say it's normal. They say it takes a year, a year and a half, before you don't think about it at all. There are some games when I feel pretty good. But then, you feel all parts of the body and the knee comes back. But I'm pretty happy with where I'm at."
Even now, back in the starting lineup, Rubio's recovery has been an up-and-down affair. And while he has done an increasingly effective job finding open shots for others -- he has clearly been taking charge more as a starter -- he is still struggling with his shot. He worked long after Tuesday's practice on getting more arc on his shot.
"He still has to get comfortable," acting head coach Terry Porter said. "He's still got to find the rhythm of his shot and [identifying] scoring opportunities."
And Rubio is still working hard to get his left leg back to full strength.
