Zach Collins Reflects On Ankle Surgery

Portland Trail Blazers’ big man Zach Collins had a successful revision surgery to repair a stress fracture on December 30th, and now, after having his cast removed, he is looking forward to getting back on the court. In an interview with NBC Sports Northwest’s Jamie Hudson, Collins reflected on what happened around his revision surgery.

“It’s hard to tell. When we look back, and why did this happen, we did everything we were supposed to do in the rehab situation. With these surgeries—they’re not always—there’s a 10% chance that, you know, it’s not gonna work out. I’ve heard there are surgeons that do this type of surgery it’s one of the surgeries they don’t love doing because it is a tough spot to get that bone to heal, the blood flow, all that stuff is tough down there. It’s definitely a surgery that sometimes goes wrong, and unfortunately for me, this was one of those times.”

According to Collins, he felt he did everything right, but sometimes these things just happen.

“Every day life was good for me, I had a good routine, and you know, thought I did everything correctly, and then this happens, and so in that circumstance, you can’t look at it as like, oh my gosh, like, if I do everything again right this time, it could happen again? Again, I’m more confident this time that it will be okay.”

Collins is looking at four to six months of rehab, which could put him on the court in the playoffs. His rookie contract has not been extended, so Collins is also thinking about his future with the Trail Blazers.

“We’ll see how everything goes. It’s definitely something you have to think about. It’s your livelihood. So it’s definitely in the back of my mind.”

“A part of me thinks it’s not really something that I can control. The only thing I can control — is the work I put in and my mindset every day, how I treat people and how I go about this rehab, that’s all I can do and everything else will take care of itself.”

You can watch the interview with Collins here.