Bryant’s Return Delayed Again

Kobe Bryant’s return from a broken right hand was delayed again Wednesday, beyond his original hopes of returning for that night’s game, beyond the rescheduled Dec. 1 plans, all the way to Dec. 8 or later.

Though it’s not considered a setback, only the normal unpredictable healing process for such an injury, Bryant has been asked to stop shooting right-handed by team physician Stephen Lombardo, and probably will have to wear a cast on his hand once he returns to practice to prevent further damage, assuming Lombardo clears him for that after a Dec. 1 appointment.

The best-case scenario at this point is that Lombardo detects enough healing that Bryant will be allowed to practice with the team starting Dec. 2, Coach Phil Jackson said.

But even then, Jackson said, Bryant wearing the cast means he probably couldn’t even shoot right-handed and probably would need another week or more before he is activated.

That pushes the return date as late as Dec. 8, “at least,” Jackson said, and means that Bryant, who broke the bone in the team’s first exhibition game Oct. 13, will be out at least the first 19 games of the regular-season.

“Dr. Lombardo told me not to really get down, because this was the healing process to begin with,” Bryant said. “I was just hoping I could get back a lot earlier. . . .

“I wanted to get back tonight. That’s my expectation. That’s what I was hoping for. The doctor’s another story, because of the bone. The bone is not ready to go. That’s how the doctor feels about it.”

Bryant, who shot left-handed jumpers for about 90 minutes before the Utah game, said he is trying not to think about how much time he is missing.

“What I do, I focus on other things,” Bryant said. “I won’t concentrate on what I’m going through right now. I focus on what to do when I get back, what I’ll be doing. That’s how I’m staying sane.”