Greg Oden, the top pick in this year's NBA draft, likely will
miss his first season with the Portland Trail Blazers after surgery
on his right knee yesterday.
Doctors found cartilage damage during an exploratory procedure,
and team physician Dr. Don Roberts performed microfracture surgery
to repair the damage.
"There are things about this that are positive for Greg. First
of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the
rest of his knee looked normal," Roberts said in a statement. "All
those are good signs for a complete recovery from microfracture
surgery."
The 7-foot (2.13-meter) center is expected to be on crutches for
up to eight weeks. Full recovery likely will take six to 12 months,
the team said.
Oden was the top pick in the June draft after playing for Ohio
State in college, where he averaged 15.7 points and 9.6
rebounds
(Shanghai Daily via Agencies September 14, 2007)