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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Williams rehabbing after two surgeries
Saturday June 14, 2003
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) Roland Williams finished last season on
the injured reserve as a medical mess.
Two operations later, the Oakland tight end is convinced he'll
be ready to compete again within two months. Raiders coach Bill
Callahan has said Williams might not be back until the end of
training camp in August, though Williams is optimistic it could be
sooner.
``My time frame is ASAP,'' Williams said during the team's
three-day minicamp. ``I'm getting along pretty good. I'm right on
schedule. I'll give it a couple months or so until I'll be back and
ready to rock and roll and help us win again.''
Last season, he had a torn medial collateral ligament in his
left knee, along with a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament
and some meniscus damage. He was hurt on the Raiders' final drive
of a 24-0 win over Kansas City on Dec. 28 and missed the
postseason.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Williams also had turf toe on his left
foot and torn ligaments in a toe on the same foot.
He underwent surgery on the knee and toe in February and began
rehabbing both injuries within days. He isn't able to run yet,
meaning he's unable to practice.
``I pushed it to its limit to get there,'' he said of his
recovery. ``It's a part of the game. ... I've been talking with my
specialist, (teammate) Bill Romanowski, and the rest of the gang.
I'm doing whatever I've got to do to come back as soon as possible.
I love football. I've been sitting patiently on the side, but now
it's getting to be around that time.
``I had a chance to sort of reacquaint myself with the game and
what I do for a living, and I can't wait to come back and try to
win a Super Bowl again.''
Williams walked through the locker room with an enormous serving
of pasta with beef; eating right is an important part of the
process, he said with a smile.
``It's a super serving. I'm a big guy,'' he said.
Williams has been a key blocker for the defending AFC champions.
He had 27 catches for 213 yards and no touchdowns last season.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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