Wednesday night Kobe Bryant left the country to undergo an undisclosed medical procedure apparently unrelated to the torn achilles he suffered last season.
According to Yahoo Sports Bryant went to Germany to have platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee, which is the same therapy he had on his left ankle and right knee in Germany in 2011.
Bryant did not feel the need to run this by Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni, who felt the same way.
"I don't think it's a surprise," D'Antoni said Thursday. "I think he had it programmed and just the way it was, he knew he had time because he's not getting on the court yet. So, I don't think it's a big deal and I don't think it caught him by surprise. Instead of doing it in August, he's doing it now.
D'Antoni expects Bryant to be away for "a couple of days."
According to ESPN the procedure Bryant will undergo will centrifuge his blood to isolate platelets and growth factors. The mix will be injected into his knee in order to speed up the healing.
"It worked out well," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said when asked about Bryant's previous trip to Germany. "He said he was a new man with a brand-new knee. He said it felt a lot better. I guess that's why he's going back, to get another boost."