“Still Not 100 Percent”: Rudy Gobert Reveals He’s Yet to Fully Recover From COVID-19

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is still experiencing a few symptoms of coronavirus. Gobert was the first player to test positive for the virus in the NBA. It was when the NBA suspended its league.

A few days later, Gobert updated about his condition via a tweet on his symptoms. He said the loss of smell and taste are among the symptoms.

Over three months after his infection came out, Gobert told the French sports publication L’Equipe that his smell is yet to be fully back.

“The taste has returned but the smell is still not 100 percent,” Gobert said (as translated by San Fransisco Gate). “I can smell the smells but not from afar. I spoke to specialists who told me it could take up to a year.”

Rudy Gobert has started training for NBA’s restart

Gobert’s Jazz is among the 22 teams to participate in the league’s restart. The two-time NBA defensive player of the year said he has started training but is yet to play five-on-five.

“I’m starting to train thoroughly,” Gobert said. “I still haven’t played five-on-five but I train individually. I do boxing, swimming, I run in the mountains. Today I would not say that I feel more tired than before. But I had experiences a month-and-a-half ago, which scared me. I felt like ants in my toes and wondered what it could be. There were quite a few little things like that.”

Gobert, 28, is into his seventh season in the NBA. He started his career with the Jazz in 2013 and has been playing for them since then. The 7′ 1″ center has been a great defensive presence for the team. He has been the Defensive Player of the Year in the last two seasons.

For the 2019-20 season, Gobert has averaged 15.1 points and 13.7 rebounds per game apart from two blocks per game. The Jazz were fourth in the Western Conference prior to the league’s suspension. Last season, they didn’t go past the first round of the playoffs and will be hoping for a deeper run this season.