MANILA – If conditioning coach Alex Ariza would have his way, he’d probably keep Manny Pacquiao away from basketball.

Ariz said Pacquiao sustained an injury on his right knee's lateral collateral ligament while playing basketball. The injury occured mid-way this year, after the Ricky Hatton fight.

“It’s gone, thank God,” Ariza told abs-cbnNEWS.com while Pacquiao was having a band rehearsal in Quezon City last week.

“We're still icing it. We're still keeping it wrapped. I just wanna make sure that it doesn’t come back,” Ariz said, adding that preventive medicine has also helped.

For faster recuperation, Ariza had Pacquiao wear a cap on his right knee occasionally.

“Support lang siya para baka bumalik yung sakit,” Pacquiao replied when asked about the injury. Ariza, however, said the pain can always return.

“Anything could come back. At this point in time the pain is evaded, the swelling is gone, the bruising seems to have gone. He feels comfortable now,” noted Ariza.

The conditioning coach revealed that he will probably remove Pacquiao’s knee cap on the week of his upcoming boxing fight so that “he’ll be used to not having it.”

Pacquiao is currently preparing for the toughest fight of his life against World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto this November 14.

After the "Firepower" boxing bout, the pound-for-pound king will stage a concert-party with Filipino artist Madonna Decena. He has been rehearsing with a band shortly before leaving for more boxing training in the US.

When asked if Pacquiao is doing well in his rehearsals, Ariza said: “It's better than basketball.” - With a report from Dennis Gaviola, abs-cbnNEWS.com