Wizards' Arenas anxious to test his knee

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas has fully recovered from a knee injury and is anxious to test it out properly during pre-season training camp. "A knee injury is rough," Arenas told reporters the day before the start of the team's workouts in Richmond, Virginia.

"You can see why some players never make it back."

Arenas suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats last season.

"I remember just sitting there working on my knee and I'm like, 'I do not want to start off the season like Kobe did last year with a limp,'" Arenas said of Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

"With me, bringing the ball up, that's going to show. So I was doing everything I can. I was running up mountains, running down mountains, jumping, running bleachers, playing on concrete.

"I was trying to get as much time as I could on it so I could feel comfortable."

The 25-year-old Arenas and fellow All-Star Caron Butler suffered late-season injuries, enabling the Cleveland Cavaliers to sweep the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs.

"This year, we're healthy as a team. We're ready to go out there and perform, show everybody what they skipped out on," Arenas said.

"Everyone has short memories. They forget that we were the number one team in the East when we were healthy. We've got to get back to work and remind them."

The Wizards finished 41-41 last season, their spring swoon derailing any chance for the franchise's first Eastern Conference crown in nearly three decades.

"We know it's going to be difficult to win the East," said Arenas, who averaged 28.4 points last season. "You've got some powerful teams. Chicago, now Boston, Orlando, Toronto and Miami.

"But we can't worry about what they're doing. We have to worry about us. But we'll be ready for them."