Raptor guard T.J. Ford smiled throughout a brief interview session Friday morning and promised he would be back on the court this season.

Officially, the Raptors call the latest injury an arm stinger, but it is related to Ford's neck and spinal column, and that makes it frightening for his fans and friends, including those who recall his college career at the University of Texas.

Ford has suffered several spinal injuries because he suffers from a congenital condition called spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column. Surgery fused two vertebrae in the summer of 2004, when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks and he missed the entire 2004-05 season.

"Any time you go out on a stretcher is definitely a scary moment for everybody in the building," Ford said of his most recent stretcher ride. "And then they're showing it additionally on TV all around the world, and people were definitely worried. I just appreciate all the people that supported me and were praying for me."