Kevin Nash is on the road to recovery and not even thinking about retiring. The former World Champion who suffered a horrific-looking torn quadriceps Monday on Raw is now in Birmingham, Ala., where he will remain for the better part of the next six months, following Tuesday’s two-hour surgery, performed by Dr. James Andrews.

“I tore it pretty clean, but I tore it pretty bad. I did a helluva job. Anyone who heard my scream on TV can attest to that,” said Nash, who has not watched a replay of the injury – and doesn’t plan to either. “One of the doctors said that while Andrews was working on it, he was shocked at how it looked, that it looked like a mess.”

Early reports say Nash will be out of action for at least six months, but he said, “I have no idea.”

Nor does he know exactly how it happened. “I don’t know what I stepped on or whom I stepped away from,” Nash said in his first interview following the injury. “All I know is, I went to hit Bubba, and then what happened, whether I stepped on Earl or Booker, I have no idea. I know I stepped on something that made me plant wrong and blow my quad.

“I thought it was my knee at first because it reminded me of when I blew out my knee in ’85. I immediately thought, ‘Oh God.’ But Chris the trainer did the ACL check, and my ACL was tight.”

Nash has spent the past few days with HHH, who had a similar, though more severe, quad tear. “Hunter was amazed that I walked out, with the help of crutches, the first day after the surgery,” Nash said. “The next day (Wednesday), it really swelled up and I could barely move. Thursday, I’ve been in a lot of pain.

“One thing we’ve got going for us, and us is the boys, is, most of us have a pretty high pain tolerance. Well, if you’re a pain freak, I highly recommend this tear.”

Yep, Nash certainly hasn’t lost his sense of humor. “It’s Thursday at 11:40 p.m. Central Time and I don’t know what hurts more – the incision on my quad or my selection of television shows.”

Nash has received get-well calls from most of the WWE wrestlers, and also Steve Austin.

“Hunter kind of informed me what I was going to be going through over the next couple of months,” Nash said. “If you want to come back from an injury like this, you almost have to isolate yourself to a world of rehab. And as of right now, that’s what I’m doing.”

He started electric stimulation on Wednesday.

“It’s a long road back; I know that. But I am not a quitter. No way am I retiring. That was not my last match,” Nash said. “Anyone who thinks I’m gonna call it quits after this doesn’t know me.” He paused, then, with a laugh, added, “I’ve got way too much more s --- to stir in that locker room and way too many young kids to hold down.”

Nash confirmed that he was not expecting to wrestle on Monday. In fact, he didn’t even have his gear with him; it had to be sent to Philadelphia via Delta Dash, arriving at about 7 p.m.

“They asked me to work, and I agreed to work. Nobody held a gun to my head,” he said. “In retrospect, I’m sure everybody wishes they hadn’t made the call, including myself, but we don’t get that luxury in this business. It’s just something that happened.

“Sure, you always ask yourself, ‘Why?’ But you can’t dwell on it.”