WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight champion Andre Ward (Oakland, Calif.) began the physical therapy portion of his recovery from shoulder surgery on Monday at Activecare Physical Therapy in San Francisco.
Both Ward and his physical therapist, Lisa Giannone, were pleased with his first session and look forward to the work ahead as he prepares to return to the ring. "I had a good first day of physical therapy on Monday. It was short and sweet, and I have a good range of motion one week out of surgery. During our first session, my physical therapist wanted to make sure that everything is healing properly and it is," Ward said.
Ward had successful surgery to repair a small tear in his right shoulder capsule on Friday, January 4, and has been recovering at home with his wife Tiffiney and their four children since that time.
"After being at home for the past 10 days, I was happy to get out of the house and get to work on my recovery. I am going to be smart and listen to what my doctors and physical therapist tell me, but I look forward to a fast recovery," Ward said. "I am going to put the same energy and focus that I put into boxing into my rehab. Like I tell my mother, I'm a professional athlete and I heal faster than the average person."
A 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, Ward was the 2011 Fighter of the Year and continued his dominance in 2012 with a 10th round knockout victory over Chad Dawson in September. He was slated to face Kelly Pavlik in Los Angeles in early 2013 prior to the injury.
Ward plans to keep all of his fans updated on his progress during his recovery throughout the process.