The Portland Trail Blazers issued a surprising announcement on Monday afternoon: center Greg Oden underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee rather than the arthroscopic procedure the team announced he would undergo on Monday morning.
Blazers Acting GM Chad Buchanan will meet with the media in 20 minutes. Here's the team press release.
The Portland Trail Blazers have announced that center Greg Oden underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee today. The surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colo. Oden will miss the remainder of the 2011-12 NBA season.
"Initially, Greg was undergoing a procedure similar to the one he had a couple of weeks ago to have debris cleared from his right knee," said Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan . "However, once the doctors were inside Greg's left knee, they unfortunately found articular surface damage and determined microfracture was necessary."
Oden, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, was selected by the Trail Blazers with the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. In 82 career games (60 starts), Oden has averaged 9.4 points (57.7% FG), 7.3 rebounds and 1.43 blocks in 22.1 minutes per game.
"This is not the news we were hoping for Greg or the organization," said Trail Blazers President Larry Miller. "It's hard to put into words the heartbreak for everyone involved, but especially for Greg. He's a young man who has experienced a great number of physical challenges in his playing career and today is yet another significant setback for him. We have a lot of empathy for Greg and his family during this difficult time."
Many more details to come from a forthcoming press conference.
Sorry for the delay this afternoon. Big thanks to DrScience for getting there first in the FanShots.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter