「The last day of August.」
After the final Group C match between the China Team and the United States Team ended at the RCA Dome, Chen Yu didn’t hurry to leave the court. Instead, he found a quiet spot to sit down for an exclusive interview with Su Jun.
"You guys actually played pretty well," Chen Yu said with a smile.
Right from the start of the game, the China Team had caught the United States Team completely off guard.
By the end of the first quarter, they were astonishingly leading the United States Team by a full 12 points.
Moreover, the China Team held the lead until just six seconds before halftime, nearly setting a record.
Ever since the Dream Team was formed, no team in any international competition had ever managed to lead the United States Team at halftime.
Su Jun gave a bitter smile. It just meant the Dream Team had been careless, like a napping tiger. Once the Dream Team got serious in the second half, they immediately turned the game around.
"Dr. Chen, let’s get down to business," Su Jun said.
Chen Yu nodded, but just as he was about to speak, he changed his mind. "Actually," he said, "you don’t even need to ask what I’m going to say. You can just write it yourself."
’Isn’t it just about how the Basketball Association has failed in its duty to care for the players, forcing them to play while injured? And how the medical support for the National Team is inadequate, preventing players from receiving proper treatment?’
’This was all arranged beforehand, so this exclusive interview feels a bit redundant.’
Su Jun picked up his bag, pulled out a draft, and handed it over. "This is the interview draft I prepared. You can look it over first and see if there are any problems. Besides, it wasn’t easy for me to get this exclusive interview, so I’d really like to have a proper chat with you."
Chen Yu glanced at Su Jun, then took the papers and asked, "What do you want to know?"
Excited, Su Jun immediately asked, "I only have one question: How did O’Neal’s surgery turn out? Will he be able to make a full recovery before the new season? Also, I know you’re good friends with both Hardaway and O’Neal. They played together back in their Magic days and even made it to the Finals. So what’s your take on them reuniting on the Phoenix Suns? Does your team’s management have any expectations for their partnership?"
"That’s a lot more than one question," Chen Yu said with an exasperated smile.
But Su Jun had done him a favor. Since he had decided to repay him, Chen Yu thought for a moment before answering. "Shaq’s surgery was to correct his deformed toe. It was done on the 9th, so it’s been fifty days now. He can already put weight on his foot and has started rehabilitation training."
"So, he’ll definitely be healthy enough to rejoin the team before the new season starts, but he probably won’t play in the preseason."
He’ll recover for another two months and make his official return at the start of the regular season.
Su Jun nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with excitement.
This was inside information, and only Chen Yu had it.
Chen Yu continued, "As for whether he can make a full recovery, I don’t see any problem there. He’ll come back healthier and stronger. As for his partnership with Hardaway and the expectations for the OP Duo, you should really be asking Brian about that. On this team, I’m only responsible for the players’ health. The results they achieve are up to their own hard work."
When O’Neal was partnered with Kobe, fans called them the OK Duo.
Now that he was in Phoenix, local fans had quickly dubbed the O’Neal-Hardaway pairing the OP Duo.
Since O’Neal’s "O" came first, he was very happy with the name.
Su Jun thanked him. Even though Chen Yu hadn’t dropped any major bombshells, what he had shared was already very generous.
Chen Yu then opened the draft and began to read it carefully.
’It’s about what I expected.’
The general idea was for Chen Yu, in his capacity as a team doctor, to comment on the potential signing.
The draft had him stating that a healthy Liu Yudong would be worth a contract from the Phoenix Suns, but that Liu Yudong’s current condition was not optimistic. It also mentioned that after this recent encounter, Chen Yu discovered that it wasn’t just Liu Yudong playing through an injury—Hu Weidong and others were doing the same.
Then, it would go on to criticize the Basketball Association’s practices as inappropriate and too damaging to the players. It would also state that if Liu Yudong couldn’t be fully healed, he would have no chance of making it in the NBA.
The subtext was clear: if Liu Yudong wasn’t healed, the Phoenix Suns wouldn’t sign him.
Chen Yu put down the papers. "There are two problems here. First, you have no real understanding of their injuries."
Su Jun froze, then asked, "Did I make it sound too serious?"
In his draft, he had written that Liu Yudong’s knee was full of fluid, severely inflamed, and had an old ligament tear. As for Hu Weidong, he had described it as unbearable foot pain.
"Not that you made it sound too serious. You made it sound far too mild." Chen Yu tapped the papers. "Liu Yudong has a torn ligament and meniscus, his cartilage is severely worn down, and his knee is most likely full of bone fragments. Think of it this way: imagine someone sprinkled a handful of thumbtacks inside your shoe, and you not only had to walk, but also jump. I think you can imagine what kind of pain that would be."
The color drained from Su Jun’s face.
"And Hu Weidong. If my diagnosis is correct, he currently has a minor fracture in his right foot. In other words, he’s playing on a broken foot. The pain he’s enduring is something you can’t even begin to imagine."
It might not have been a displaced fracture, but the bone was still cracked. The pain would be every bit as intense as Liu Yudong’s.
Su Jun’s expression shifted again, becoming more solemn than ever. "Dr. Chen," he asked, "is what you’re saying true?"

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