Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh declared himself fit for the upcoming NBA campaign after blood clots on his lung sidelined him last season.
“I am released and ready for contact,” Bosh told reporters five days before the Heat open training camp.
“I feel I’m in pretty good shape and ready to attack training camp,” added the 31-year-old. “I would rather be doing that than having tubes in my chest. That sucks.”
Bosh, who is now off blood thinners, was hospitalized in February for nine days because blood clots on a lung.
He didn’t play again last season and in his absence – and after the departure of LeBron James for Cleveland – the Heat failed to make the playoffs after winning the NBA title in 2012 and 2013, and falling to San Antonio in the finals in 2014.
“It’s like everything that could have gone wrong for us last year went wrong,” said Bosh, who noted that veteran star Dwyane Wade also battled injuries.
On the bright side, his enforced absence, and frightening medical trouble, has given him renewed passion for the game.
“I think I was lacking a little passion for a while,” he said. “Mentally, I can see myself just really continuing to have an excellent career as far as this season is concerned. It’s such a great game. I came that close to losing it.”
Bosh acknowledged that he could develop new clots that could require him to take the blood thinners that would prevent him from playing.
But he said he doesn’t have a genetic pre-disposition to them, and has learned preventive measures to use, especially during air travel.
“I’m a lot smarter now,” Bosh said. ‘I know about the precautions.”
