Blazers Guard Elliot Williams Discusses His Season-Ending Knee Injury

The Portland Trail Blazers announced Thursday afternoon that rookie guard Elliot Williams would undergo surgery to repair a dislocated right patella and that he would "likely" miss the rest of the 2010-2011 NBA Season.

Williams attended the Blazers' Thursday night game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and after the game he agreed to briefly discuss the injury.

"Well, it was a workout yesterday," Williams told Blazersedge. "I was playing one-on-one with Luke Babbitt in the workout. I mean, I guess I was coming off of a curl and kind of twisted the wrong way."

Williams said he was in pain, but not the type we would normally associate with a season-ending knee injury. "It hurt, but it's happened to me before. I knew exactly what it was." Williams said he's suffered the "same exact injury" before and said, "it will swell up a little bit."

From Williams' description, it sounds like surgery was not absolutely necessary but rather a preferred choice to prevent future, larger issues with the knee. "It's an injury where after three or four weeks, you're good," Williams explained. "But if it keeps happening, a major injury can happen. So it's best if I just get it fixed now."

The Blazers announced that Williams is "likely" out for the regular season and Williams said he has no timeline at all for a possible return in mind. "Not yet. That depends on how my body feels." Asked if he might be ready for the playoffs or for Summer League 2011, Williams repeated that it was too early to tell. "It just depends on how my body feels after the surgery and we'll go from there."

His surgery is set for "next week in Los Angeles."  

It will be Williams's first surgery of any kind in his lifetime. Asked if he knew what he was in for, Williams shook his head. "I don't. I just know they put you to sleep and go to work. That's all I know."

"It's something that has to happen," Williams said, looking down at the locker room floor.