Rice Ready To Run

June 3, 1998 / 3:15 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Jerry Rice is facing the biggest obstacle of his football career.

Rice, recovering from major reconstructive surgery on his left knee for ligament and cartilage damage, said Tuesday he wanted to do more during the team's minicamp this week, but the coaches told him to take it slow.

"All the hard work, all the time it took is probably my toughest obstacle," said Rice, who has scored more touchdowns than anyone in NFL history. "This is going to continue throughout the year. I'll be rehabbing the entire season. If it all goes well, I'll be able to get back to my regular routine."

The San Francisco 49ers coaching staff is taking a cautious approach toward Rice's return.

Rice is allowed to participate in stretching drills, running routes and timing patterns with the quarterback, but then he's shut down.

"He keeps saying, `Can I go?"' 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci said. "He'll do the first hour, then he gives me the look. I say no, and he just watches. He's so anxious to get going, but we still have more time to get him going."

Rice would rather not wait.

"There's no reason why I can't come back and do the things I'm accustomed to doing," Rice said. "I have no choice but to slow down. If it were left up to me, I'd take the same approach: go out, be aggresive and see what happens."

The 49ers are hopeful Rice can go at full speed when training camp opens in mid-July.

"Right now it's all about confidence," Rice said. "You have a tendency to favor the injury, and I'm fighting through that. If I gain confidence in my knee again, I don't have to think about it. I'm looking forward to that first hit. Hopefully I'll jump up from it and go back to the huddle."

Rice tried to return from the injury, suffered in the 49ers' first game of the season on Aug. 31, 1997, at Tampa Bay. He returned to the lineup on Dec. 15 against Denver, but suffered a cracked kneecap after catching a touchdown pass in the second quarter.

"I wouldn't change that for the world," Rice said. "Just to be able to run back onto the field was the highlight of my career, being able to work my way back."

Rice had two screws removed from his knee during the off-season, which slowed his progress. The screws, each about 1 1/2 inches long, were to remain in the knee, but were causing irration, and so were surgerically removed.

"That's the worst pain I've ever felt," said Rice. "I didn't want them to put me to sleep, and they had to dig them out."

Rice, who said his knee strength is not quite 100 percent, is trying to strengthen the muscles around the knee to take some pressure off the injured parts.

"I want to be stronger and better than I was at the beginning of last year's camp," Rice said. "I'm anxious to do stuff, and feel it coming on. I get a little excited."