"I'm fine, America"- Shaquille O'Neal plays down concerns about hip injury and thanks fans for checking up on him
Shaquille O'Neal underwent hip surgery last month and gave his fans a scare after posting a picture of himself in a hospital bed. O'Neal assured everyone that he's doing fine and is on the road to recovery.
On a recent episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," the LA Lakers legend discussed his recovery from the hip surgery. O'Neal thanked his fans for checking up on him and was sorry for making everyone worried.
"Right now, I'm sitting on this leather thing and my ass cheek is just on fire," O'Neal said. "But today is my one month checkup so I got cleared. I'm about to get really fine now. ... I got cleared now so I'm gonna start swimming and I'm about to double up on the rehab.
"I'm fine, America. Thank you for checking on me."
Shaquille O'Neal scared his fans last month after uploading a photo of himself lying on a hospital bed. Some fans thought that he was undergoing a serious procedure, but was only set to get new hips.
After his photo went viral, the four-time NBA champ updated his fans on Instagram. Shaq uploaded a hilarious reel showing his backside being animated. It was hilarious and disturbing at the same time, with O'Neal joking that he actually underwent a Brazilian butt lift.
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Shaquille O'Neal returns on 'Inside the NBA'
Shaquille O'Neal was back on "Inside the NBA" last week after missing some time due to hip surgery. O'Neal revealed that he feels good and thanked Charles Barkley for guiding him through the process. Barkley himself has had two hip surgeries since retiring and supported O'Neal for his first.
Barkley then hilariously called out Shaq and said that he wanted to fight. The LA Lakers legend had to stop his colleague because he's still undergoing rehab. Barkley pointed out every time Shaq challenged him to a fight and the time was right to do it.
"I wanna fight," Barkley said. "I wanna fight. You've been wanting to fight me for years."
"Chuck, I'm sorry," O'Neal replied. "I'm sorry. C'mon, man. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done in the 11 years I've been here."
Hip surgeries are not uncommon in former athletes, especially basketball players. As mentioned earlier, Barkley already underwent two of them and O'Neal had his first. These athletes have gone through so much during their careers that they will need new hips as they get older.
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