Cotton keeping positive

Bryce Cotton has joined his teammates at training for the first time since undergoing surgery for a haematoma 11 days ago.

The MVP revealed the injury is healing well, but said there’s still a long road to recovery.

“I was on bed rest for the last 10 days or so, but I still need to take it easy for at least another two weeks before I can get into some proper rehab."

He’s looking forward to taking an active role with the team while on the sidelines.

“That’s the plan, every time we’ve got practice or a game here, but travelling is out of the plans for now,” said Cotton.

“I’m probably a little more vocal with guys in timeouts, sitting on the sidelines versus when I’m playing, maybe give advice that maybe they’re not picking up on the court in the thick of it.”

Despite being frustrated with the injury at a crucial time of the season, Cotton’s keeping positive.

“I know how much work we put in as a team, how much doubt we had throughout the year. Noen of the experts even picked us to make playoffs, so for us to secure a top-two spot, that’s a silver lining and I’m grateful I was at least able to play 32 out of the 36 games,” he said.

“Now, I’m excited to see what these guys can do because it was a great team effort all year and we’ve put ourselves in a position for the most fun part. That’s here in the playoffs.”

The Perth Wildcats have one final regular season game on Friday against Melbourne United.

Their first NBL Finals game is on Thursday 10 June, with an opponent yet to be determined.

Tickets for both games are available here.