The Portland Trail Blazers announced that center Greg Oden will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee on Monday, as expected. The procedure, which will remove debris, marks the fifth knee surgery of Oden's Blazers tenure and will be conducted in Vail, CO.
Oden currently does not have a timetable for return, but is not expected to see the court this season. Officially, he is considered "out indefinitely."
"Having this procedure on the right knee and the possibility of his left knee doesn't increase the likelihood of him playing soon," Blazers Acting GM Chad Buchanan said earlier this month.
Oden underwent the same arthroscopic procedure on his right knee on Feb. 3. Following that surgery, a "minor" blood clot was discovered in Oden's left ankle. The blood clot had to be addressed before Monday's surgery on his left knee could proceed, causing a slight delay in the timeline for Monday's procedure. Original expectations were for the procedure to take place last week.
Oden previously underwent two surgeries on his left knee. The first one came in December 2009, after Oden fractured his patella during a game against the Houston Rockets. The second one came in November 2010, when Oden underwent microfracture surgery after he suffered a non-contact injury during the rehabilitation process.
In addition to the arthroscopic procedure earlier this month, Oden also underwent a microfracture procedure on his right knee in September 2007.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported in December 2011 that Oden had agreed to renegotiate his $8.8 million qualifying offer down to $1.5 million after the Blazers announced that Oden had suffered a "setback" in his rehabilitation. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Buchanan admitted earlier this month that additional surgeries could be a possibility.
"It's hard to eliminate anything at this point," he said.
Oden, 24, has played in 82 games since being selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and has not appeared in a game since December 2009. Oden has posted career averages of 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Further updates as they become available throughout the day.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter