Kobe Bryant, recovering from surgery, will be out of the NBA.

(Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers announced last Saturday that Kobe Bryant underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon and could be sidelined for up to nine months.

Bryant, the fourth-highest scorer in NBA history, suffered the injury late in the Lakers' victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday.

The Lakers announced that the surgery was a success, but said in a statement that recovery time could range from "six to nine months".

Bryant will miss all of the Lakers' playoff games if they manage to hold onto the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, and he could very well be sidelined for a good portion of the beginning of next season.

The 34-year-old basketball player quickly dismissed the idea that the injury could hasten his retirement.

"Seriously? Are you kidding me?", he responded to reporters in the locker room. "Obviously, there have been several players who have suffered this same injury, so I know I can recover."

"All I can do is repeat what they did, how they managed to come back as quickly and efficiently as possible. See what they did and try to improve on it."

The Lakers have recovered from a poor start to the season and are fighting for a playoff spot, but their chances of making an impact in the postseason have been severely hampered by the injury to the team's best player.

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, described the incident as the most disappointing moment of his career.

"By far. We work so hard to depend only on ourselves," he said. "It's terrible, a terrible feeling."

The injury occurred in a harmless manner, when he dribbled past Harrison Barnes, a forward for the Warriors, and moved to the left before falling to the ground.

Initially, Bryant continued limping onto the court until he reached the free-throw line, standing on one leg to make the two shots he was allowed before heading to the locker room for treatment.

(By Simon Evans)