Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles is in no doubt that he will return from his recent ACL injury.
Ingles’ knee buckled as he was driving to the basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Sunday’s loss, scans later confirming the worst.
Recovery time for an ACL tear is generally given at around 12 months, and with Ingles 34-years-old there were concerns in the immediate aftermath that he may not play again.
However, the Australian has put those rumours to bed.
“Literally no doubt,” Ingles told ESPN.
“I know probably everybody says that when they're going through this. A few days post-injury, people might think I'm a little bit crazy. But you look at people who have been through this. The MRI was a little bit of a win, I guess, with it just being my ACL.
“Then the other part of it -- and we joke about it -- is my game. My game has never been based on athleticism, above the rim or anything like that.
“I'm not writing off what this surgery is and what the rehab looks like, but everyone around the league knows how I play and what I can do.”
Despite that, Ingles understands his time in Utah may be over. He is in the final year of his contract and was on the trade table before his injury.
“If I'm able to get someone back that would help them make a push for the end of the year, I understand that,” Ingles said.
“I'm not going to sit here and be sour and upset. I've built my eight years here of hard work and in the community and all that stuff, but I'm very well aware of the business side and all that.”
“Having an ACL obviously throws a bit of a spanner (wrench) in the works with some of it, but I have good relationships with the Jazz and the front office and coach (Quin Snyder).
“I've got the best agent (Mark Bartelstein) in the league. It's a very fluid conversation, and we just have open lines of conversation.”
Ingles hasn’t suffered a serious injury since he was 15 and broke a foot, and up until last season held the game’s longest active playing streak at 384.
However, he says he will have access to the best care and is therefore “very, very confident” of returning to the league.
“There's going to be bumpy roads, and I'm going to have setbacks,” said Ingles,
“I'm very aware of what injuries are and have seen people go through this. From Australia to America to overseas, I've got contacts and friends and people all over the world. I'm going to make sure I have the best of the best looking after me and helping me.
“I still love playing. I want to play in the NBA. I'm not trying to play anywhere else right now. The goals I've got and have had haven't changed.
“It obviously puts a little mountain over the top of it, and I've got to get over that mountain to get where I want to get to, but I'm very confident with my work ethic, with my wife's demanding persistence of perfection. I'm very, very confident.”
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian recently floated the possibility that Ingles could return to the NBL to finish his career, stating: “I always had that feeling at the end of his career, he would play a few (seasons) in the NBL.”
Ingles has averaged 8.6 points and 3.8 assists per game in his NBA career.