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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Kobe Bryant said he has been progressing well in his rehab from Achilles surgery. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is growing increasingly optimistic that he will return to the court from his ruptured Achilles tendon surgery\u00A0sooner rather than later.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In an NBA.com report, Bryant said that he has \"shattered\" the average recovery time from Achilles surgery and described his procedure as \"different.\" As a result of the procedure, Bryant said, he has been able to progress to the point of working out and walking just over three months after having surgery to repair a tear of his Achilles tendon he suffered on April 12.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bryant said he still doesn't have a timetable for his return despite his accelerated recovery. Lakers vice president Jim Buss said last month\u00A0that he would \"bet a lot of money\" that Bryant would be ready to return by the preseason.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Lakers open preseason play against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 5.\n&lt;strong&gt;MAHONEY: Mailbag: Sixers' offseason better than it appears&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/si-wire/2013/08/05/kobe-bryant-recovery-update>