Knee Injury Could Keep Raptors’ Bosh Out Of Pre-Season

Chris Bosh knows how important the NBA pre-season is, but that doesn’t mean the Raptors all-star will get to play in it.

The Raptors are safely back from a tour of Italy and Spain in which they took on NBA and local clubs, but Bosh, who sat out most of last year’s exhibition with a foot injury, finds himself in a similar situation this time around with a nagging knee problem.

In 2006-07 Bosh got off to a sluggish start because of his limited pre-season workout, something he’s desperately trying to avoid this time around.

“I care (if I play in the pre-season),” Bosh said. “I’d like to play in a few games, because I ran into that problem last year, I really didn’t get to play like I wanted to in the pre-season and then I didn’t start off the season like I wanted to.”

The 23-year-old forward’s left knee swelled after he tweaked it during a team scrimmage on Oct. 3 in Italy . He still played in exhibition games against the Boston Celtics and Roma the following week but was forced to stay out against Real Madrid on Thursday.

Raptors medical staff insists the swelling and discomfort is heading in the right direction, but not fast enough to get him into Wednesday’s game against Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas at the Air Canada Centre.

“I’m taking it day-by-day, I was able to exercise a bit today,” Bosh said. “I’m trying to hurry up and get back so I can work hard in the pre-season, get a couple of games under my belt, get the rust out and then I’ll be ready for the season.”

After a game at home against Chicago Friday, the Raptors play twice more before opening the regular-season at home Oct. 31 against Philadelphia . Raptors coach Sam Mitchell hopes Bosh sees some action before the season begins to avoid a repeat of last year’s disappointing start that saw his team go 2-8 in its first 10 games.

“You want him to get game-ready. It’s different than just practicing,” Mitchell said. “You try to simulate the games as much as possible in practice, but it’s not just the same with the fans there, with the atmosphere and everything that’s going on. So we would like to get him into a game or two.”

Bosh is no stranger to injury, having spent much of last season struggling through plantar fasciitis in his left foot and knee problems he says were caused by compensating for his bad foot. He still averaged 22.6 points and 10.7 rebounds a game.

When asked if his latest knee trouble is more annoying or scary, he said, “It’s both, but I’m trying not to let my emotions play into it. I’m just trying to stay on top of it. The body is funny — if you get too worried about some things it can get worse, so I’m just trying to stay relaxed.”

(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)