Johnson guarantees return from surgery

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas sophomore guard Joe Johnson said Thursday he'll be ready for the start of the 2000-01 basketball season after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated tendon in his left ankle.
Johnson, a former Little Rock Central standout and the SEC Newcomer of the Year after averaging team highs of 16 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Razorbacks last season as a freshman, underwent the surgery Wednesday at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock.
"Don't worry about me," Johnson said from his Little Rock home. "I'll be ready when the season starts."
Arkansas basketball trainer Dave England said Johnson faces a two- to three-month rehabilitation process.
"Hopefully, he'll be back for the start of practice [Oct. 14]," England said. "But, obviously, we're not going to rush him. He won't return to the court until we know for sure he's ready to go."
Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson and his assistants are in El Paso, Texas, conducting a clinic and couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.
Johnson injured his ankle July 18 while practicing as a member of the USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team in preparation for a tournament in Riberiao Preto, Brazil. Johnson said he took a charge from Duke guard Jason Williams when he came down on his ankle.
"I heard it pop," he said. "I figured then it was pretty serious."
Johnson didn't play in the Confederation of Pan Basketball Associations World Championship in which Team USA won the silver medal. He returned home July 25 and his mother, Dianne Johnson, said that when his ankle injury didn't improve for several days, she decided her son should be examined at Arkansas Sports Medicine Clinic.
"We had an MRI done Monday and they called Tuesday saying he needed surgery and we set it up for Wednesday," Dianne Johnson said. "It all happened so fast, but I figured it was something we shouldn't wait on.
"I relied on my motherly instincts that my son was not well and needed this surgery to get better."
Dianne Johnson said her son underwent the surgery, performed by Dr. Jimmy Tucker, before she had a chance to contact Arkansas' coaches or England. She said her family insurance covered the surgery.
"There may be some things I should have done differently, maybe I didn't talk to everyone I should have talked to [at Arkansas]," Dianne Johnson said. "But I did what I felt was best for my son. I didn't want Joe to have to wait anymore. ... I felt we needed to do something now."
Dianne Johnson said she felt comfortable with Tucker, who had provided care for Joe Johnson previously when he suffered an ankle injury his junior year at Central. She said Wednesday's surgery went well and that Joe Johnson was resting comfortably at home.
England said that after Johnson recovers from the surgery, he will begin rehabilitating his left ankle when he arrives on campus later this month.

This article was published on Friday, August 4, 2000

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