Miami's Wade: Rehab going well after knee surgery

By TIM REYNOLDS

LONDON (AP) Dwyane Wade's recovery from knee surgery is right on schedule, and the All-Star guard expects to be ready to go when the Miami Heat open the defense of their NBA championship.

The way he was walking around London on Wednesday, it would have been tough to guess he had surgery a month ago.

"I feel good. Rehab is going very well," Wade told The Associated Press. "I'm happy with it. I'm more encouraged than I was, obviously, when I knew I had to get surgery. So I'm happy."

Wade was in London making a promotional appearance at NBA House for Gatorade, one of his longtime sponsors, and its sports science institute. If the knee surgery wasn't needed, Wade would have been in London for another reason - playing in the Olympics with the U.S. squad. He helped the team win a bronze at the 2004 Athens Games and gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

He didn't hesitate when asked if he thought there was a chance his Heat teammate LeBron James and the rest of the U.S. men wouldn't win gold.

"No," Wade said. "No. Simple as that."

He had surgery on his left knee on July 9, after helping the Heat win the NBA championship despite his being bothered by knee pain and swelling throughout the playoffs. Once it was determined that he needed surgery, Wade removed his name from consideration for the Olympic team.

Wade will spend a few days in London, planning to watch the U.S.-Japan women's soccer gold-medal match on Thursday, basketball and track and field, among other Olympic events. Then it's off to Switzerland for meetings with a watch company that sponsors him and back home for the busiest part of his summer.

The book he wrote about fatherhood comes out Sept. 4, the day he'll start a whirlwind promotional tour. Before that, he'll host a fantasy camp for people who want to live like NBA players for a few days, along with a series of events for kids in his native Chicago.

"I'm pretty much busy," Wade said. "Business things and also spending time with my boys. There's a lot to do. I'll be busy all the way from now up to training camp."

He started rehabbing almost immediately after surgery, first trying to build strength in his hip and knee areas. Around Sept. 1, he expects to do more intense training, which would coincide with the start of the book tour.

"So I'll be doing both," he said. "I'll be working out on the tour."

The Heat will open training camp in late September, and Wade said he expects to be fully ready to go when Miami opens the defense of its title against the Boston Celtics on Oct. 30. He even hopes to be ready for the start of camp.

"I should be. We'll see," Wade said. "We'll see how we approach it as an organization. But I should be able to go. It just depends on how much they feel like they want me to work. But I should be ready when the season starts."

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Updated August 8, 2012