DeAngelo Hall spoke to Kobe Bryant for advice on torn Achilles recovery

Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall turned to an unlikely source in his recovery from a torn Achilles.

Hall sought the advice of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who suffered a torn Achilles in April 2013 and is still battling with complications from the injury.

"I knew it was going to be hard, just from talking to other guys," Hall said to Comcast Sportsnet Washington's Tarek El-Bashir. "I really leaned on Kobe to just kind of take his mental approach. I summoned my inner Black Mamba."

The Redskins cornerback was held out of practices and organized team activities, slowly working himself back into game shape.

"I'm excited to get back out there on the field. … (But) I'm at the mercy of the trainers and coaching staff," Hall said. "So they're going to kind of wean me back in slowly. But I’m excited to get back out there going with the guys."

Hall originally suffered the injury during a September defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. A little more than a month later, he re-aggravated the ailment while making pizza.

After nearly a year away from the field, he's hoping to make a contribution as soon as possible.

"I hope I'm ready to go the first day,” Hall said. "When I say wean me back in, I know they are going to monitor me. I know they are not going to just throw me out there and (have me) take all the reps with the (first team). I'm just going to get out there and see how the body feels."