Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 58: Hill’s Night Run

Chen Yu wasn’t in the habit of waking up in the middle of the night.

The grueling years of medical school and the insane shifts of his residency had conditioned him to fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

But now that he was in his thirties, his sleep had become much lighter.

So Chen Yu wasn’t sure what had woken him up.

It was a faint sound that had disturbed him.

He turned his head and glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand.

A little after two in the morning.

Just then, Chen Yu heard another noise.

It sounded like a door opening.

He sat up, instantly alert. Orlando’s public safety was only so-so, but Hill lived in a wealthy neighborhood, so the security should have been a bit better.

But no matter how good the security was, you could never completely rule out petty criminals.

In Miami, for instance, Chen Yu rarely went out after dark.

Getting out of bed, he peered outside through a gap in the curtains.

Under the glow of the courtyard’s security light, Chen Yu saw a tall figure open the gate and jog away, gradually disappearing into the distance.

’Hill?’

Chen Yu frowned.

’Out for a run in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?’

For someone as extremely self-disciplined as Hill, this was simply unbelievable.

There was only one explanation: Hill was nervous. Nervous about his comeback tomorrow.

Chen Yu leaned against the window, his brow furrowing as he watched Hill disappear into the night.

’It’s the same old problem. The successive injuries have made Hill lose confidence in his own body.’

Especially since he had been virtually injury-free for the first few seasons of his career.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu went back to bed to get more sleep.

’It’s best for a person to resolve their own psychological issues.’

’I’ll see what state Hill is in tomorrow. If it’s not good, then I’ll consider how to intervene.’

’Since the system I got has a [Sports Psychology] function, my job isn’t just about healing someone and sending them back to the court. It also requires preparing them to return both physiologically and psychologically.’

The next morning, Chen Yu was woken up by his alarm.

After washing up, he went downstairs to find Hill already sitting at the dining table, eating.

Seeing Chen Yu come down, he greeted him with a cheerful smile.

Just like any other day.

If Chen Yu hadn’t seen him with his own eyes during the night, he would have actually been fooled.

"How are you feeling?" Chen Yu asked, sitting down across from him.

Hill grinned. "Good. Really good."

Chen Yu couldn’t detect anything unusual in Hill’s expression.

’Maybe that run last night helped him sort out his mindset?’

As he ate, Chen Yu’s gaze fell on Hill’s ankle.

’The cartilage is completely intact now.’

’If there’s any real issue, it’s probably the steel plate from his previous surgery.’

After two months of rest, the bone had long since healed, and the screws that had previously shown signs of loosening were now locked in place by new bone growth.

On the surface, there didn’t seem to be any problem.

But Chen Yu still felt the doctor who had operated on Hill hadn’t fully considered the way Hill’s ankle generated force.

The best option now would be to remove the plate.

But removing the plate would require another surgery, and waiting for the screw holes to heal would probably take another month or two.

So, if they were going to remove it, it would have to be during the off-season.

After breakfast, at nine in the morning, the two drove to the Waterhouse Center.

These past few days, the Magic’s record had been decent.

After defeating the Bucks, the Magic had gone on to beat the Pistons and the Celtics.

It was all thanks to Tracy McGrady’s monstrous performance, averaging 31.5 points over four games.

However, in yesterday’s game against the Nets, Tracy McGrady’s form had been inconsistent, and they lost again.

So in Pleasance’s view, it was still a lack of practice.

Therefore, even knowing they had to fly over a thousand kilometers for an away game tomorrow, Pleasance still scheduled a practice session for today.

「At half-past nine, Monty had already driven to the arena.」

After parking his car, he ran into Outlaw, who was just getting out of his.

After a quick greeting, Monty asked quizzically, "Why are there so many reporters outside?"

The entrance to the parking lot was swarmed with them.

"You don’t know? Grant is coming back today. He should be here for practice," Outlaw replied with a question of his own.

"Huh?"

Monty was genuinely stunned for a moment. He quickly said, "That’s not right. Didn’t the media say he wouldn’t be back until the middle of the month?"

Outlaw shrugged. "Who knows? Haven’t you asked Chen?"

Monty shook his head, frowning. "Our record’s been decent lately, right? Why the rush to come back?"

With Tracy McGrady playing out of his mind lately, there shouldn’t have been that much pressure regarding their record. Hill could have definitely rested longer and made a full recovery before returning.

Outlaw said, "I have no idea about that, but you should trust Chen. Grant wouldn’t be coming back without his approval."

’That’s true,’ Monty thought. ’To stop Hill from coming back early, Chen Yu had practically chewed out the entire Magic management until they backed down.’

"Well, that’s great news then," Monty said with a smile.

With Hill’s return, the great ship that was the Magic could finally get back on course.

The two of them walked to the locker room as they talked.

Hill was already there, warmly greeting and chatting with everyone.

Chen Yu wasn’t there. He was discussing Hill’s comeback plan with Weisbrod and Pleasance.

Pleasance said, "First, he’ll practice with the team to acclimate for a day or two, then start in-team scrimmages. How about he makes his comeback on the 13th, for the home game against the Warriors? We can control his minutes at first and let him slowly get his feel back."

Weisbrod nodded in agreement.

Normally, returning from a major injury like this required a week to ten days to gradually reacclimate.

After they spoke, both men looked at Chen Yu.

Chen Yu had single-handedly treated Hill; they couldn’t ignore his opinion.

Chen Yu thought for a moment before saying, "I have no objections to the general plan, but I personally suggest we can skip the acclimation period and go straight to team practice. Grant is much healthier than you imagine."

Chen Yu had Hill start training with a ball half a month ago and had been steadily increasing the intensity based on his body’s recovery.

So, in Chen Yu’s opinion, he barely needed an acclimation period. He could be put straight into a game.

The two men exchanged a look but didn’t commit. Pleasance said, "Then let’s see the evaluation results later before deciding."

The team was scheduled to conduct another evaluation of Hill’s recovery today.

"Then let’s head to the practice court." With the discussion settled, Weisbrod stood up, smiling cheerfully.

Hill was back, which not only guaranteed ticket sales, but the Orlando twin stars he had painstakingly assembled over the summer were also finally ready to unleash their power. How could he not be in a good mood?

The three of them arrived at the practice court.

Because of Hill’s return, the practice was specially opened to the media today, and a large number of reporters had already surrounded Hill.

Pleasance walked over, first shooing the reporters to the sidelines, then called for the other players to start training.

It was another high-volume conditioning workout.

Through relentless running, the Magic’s defensive ability had improved significantly. In the last five games, they had held their opponents to an average of just 92 points.

Before, that number was 97.2 points, last in the entire league.

As for Hill, he was undergoing an athletic ability assessment, accompanied by Daniel.

Chen Yu stood by, watching closely.

There were many tests, focusing mainly on static athletic abilities like strength, balance, and so on.

Before long, the assessment was over.

Daniel walked over, a look of astonishment on his face. "Unbelievably good."

Pleasance quickly took the evaluation report and scanned it, nodding to himself.

Compared to his condition during the preseason training camp, almost none of Hill’s stats had declined.

Handing the report to Chen Yu, Pleasance said, "How about we run a 3-on-3 and see?"

He was also curious to see what Hill’s competitive form was like after two months of rest.