Luol Deng doesn't expect surgery

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LONDON -- Luol Deng gave his clearest indication yet on Tuesday that he will not undergo surgery on the injured ligaments in his left wrist before reporting to the Chicago Bulls' training camp.

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Not that the All-Star forward is ruling out the possibility all together.

"I'm still discussing it, but I feel like I don't need it," he said. "If it was one of those injuries that's getting worse and worse and worse then I would do it.

"But I've been talking to my doctor who did the first surgery (on a torn ligament in his right wrist in '04), and I've been getting a lot of feedback from her. We are just taking time and if I feel like all of a sudden it's bothering me that much then we will get it. But it hasn't got to that yet."

Deng logged significant minutes for a Great Britain team which ended Olympic group play with a 1-4 record, its solitary victory coming in a 90-58 win over China in its final game. It was GB's first Olympic basketball victory in 64 years.

Having been made captain for the start of the tournament in appreciation of his efforts for his adopted homeland, Deng averaged 34.6 minutes per game (for 40-minutes games), although he only logged 24 minutes in the blow-out against China.

"I felt fine," said Deng. "(GB coach Chris) Finch kept asking me about it, but he said that in practice it looked fine. It felt better than it did during the season.

"I know it was, 'Do I get the surgery or don't I?' I asked a lot of different opinions, different doctors. Just for me, myself, if I couldn't (play), I would get it. If I felt in a lot of pain or if I was useless out there, I would definitely do it, but the pain has gone down a lot. There are times when it's painful, I'm not going to lie, but it's not enough for me to say 'I'm out of it.'"

In the first four games, in which GB's hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals were still alive, Deng averaged 37.2 minutes without once showing -- or feeling -- any ill effects from the wrist ligament injury he suffered with the Bulls last season.

However, Deng did concede that the injury is still providing him with moments of pain and, while he does not feel like surgery is necessary at the moment, it is an option that he will be forced to consider if the pain becomes an issue.

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