ATLANTA -- Raptors guard T.J. Ford said Wednesday that he plans to take at least a week off before trying to resume any basektball activity, but said a scary fall the previous night in Atlanta doesn't have him worried about a career-ending injury.
Ford was released from an Atlanta hospital Wednesday and flew home to Toronto, one day after his head struck the floor and he was removed from the court on a stretcher.
"I'm going to give myself a week," Ford said after the Raptors beat Dallas on Wednesday night. "It all depends on how my body recovers. I don't think you can put a timetable on it."
Ford was injured when Atlanta rookie Al Horford struck him on the head and knocked him down as Ford was trying to score on a breakaway with 1:32 left in the game. Horford, who was ejected for a flagrant foul, said he was trying to block Ford's shot.
Ford spent the night in Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital for observation and tests. The Raptors said Ford had feeling in his extremities when taken off the court.
On Wednesday, Ford said both arms are still sore and that he is unable to sleep comfortably.
When he does return, Ford said he won't be any more cautious about contact.
"I understand I'm always playing with a risk," Ford said. "I don't think the risk has changed. I don't think, after talking to the medical doctors and the way that my body feels, that I'm putting my career in jeopardy.
"If I felt that way, I don't think I would play because life is more important," Ford added. "I have a son that I definitely want to be able to play with. I don't think I could live with not being able to do a lot of things with him. If it gets to that point, I think I would definitely give it up."
Toronto's medical staff will conduct their own assessment of Ford's condition before he resumes workouts.
"We just hope we can get him through this," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said before the game. "When he feels up to it, he'll start practicing again."
In 2001, Ford was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the openings of the vertebra the spinal cord runs through.
He was injured in a February 2004 collision with Minnesota's Mark Madsen, then missed the final 26 games of that season and the entire 2004-05 season with Milwaukee because of neck surgery.
Call Him Q-Basa 