NEW YORK, Feb. 5 -- Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin celebrated Monday the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dog, with Chinese fans here, and is optimistic with his recovery from the season-ending injury.

Lin, who injured a patella tendon in the season opener, showed his technics of making Chinese traditional food, dumplings, with a chef of a Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn, which was livestreamed on NBA Weibo channel.

Fans from China and Britain flied all the way to New York to send their greetings and best wishes for Lin's return to the court.

"I'm recovering well. But I don't expect to return this season. I cannot take the risk," Lin said.

Lin is expected to return in 6-9 months after a successful surgery on his right knee last October.

"I'm not only rehabbing from my knee injury, I'm also treating some old injuries sustained in past years. I use the time to working on my movement patterns and other skills. I hope to have some improvement when I'm back to the court," Lin added.

Facing the most severe injury and longest rehabbing process in his career, Lin said, "I'm 29 years old now. I've met lots of difficulties in my life and I gained lots of experiences. I believe I can control my attitude (to the difficulties), to focus on recovery 100 per cent. I'm happy every day because I know my knee will be okay and I'll be playing in NBA."