Kobe Bryant denies retirement rumors on Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant took to Twitter early Monday morning to dispel any notion that he was planning to announce his retirement.

After Bryant said that he was planning a major announcement on his Facebook page this weekend, rumors popped up on Twitter and other social sites that he was going to retire. The announcement ended up being that he and his wife, Vanessa, were partnering with non-profit Sports Spectacular for what Bryant called a “great cause.”

But on Twitter, Bryant added a firm debunking of any retirement rumors:

Really?? Me. Retire?? Soon, but not yet Vino still has work to do #35 #OG #kbvff

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) 20 mai 2013

It appears as if the rumors came from a tweet sent by a fake account purporting to be that of Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

Bryant, 35, underwent surgery in mid-April to repair a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg and is expected to miss six to nine months.