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Oden will miss season after knee surgery

Thu 13th, September 2007

Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Portland Trail Blazers rookie center Greg Oden will miss the entire 2007-08 season after undergoing right knee surgery on Thursday.

An exploratory arthroscopic procedure revealed cartilage damage, and a micro- fracture surgery was also performed. He will be on crutches for up to eight weeks, according to the Trail Blazers, who also said that recovery time from micro-fracture surgery generally takes between six and 12 months. "Greg had an arthroscopy and a micro-fracture surgery today," said team physician Dr. Don Roberts, who preformed the surgery. "He was found to have articular cartilage damage in his right knee. The area of injury was not large and we were able to treat it with micro-fracture, which stimulates the growth of cartilage. 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. All those are good signs for a complete recovery from micro-fracture surgery." Oden was the top pick in June's NBA Draft after playing just one season at Ohio State. "Certainly this is a setback, but our future is still incredibly bright," said general manager Kevin Pritchard. "Is it disappointing? Yes. However, this is a great core of talent and players of strong character and will continue to be." After the draft, Oden played in just two Las Vegas summer league games, and had a tonsillectomy in July. He underwent an MRI exam last week, which revealed some knee problems. "We know this discouraging news for all of our fans, however, the people of Portland are very enthusiastic and compassionate about their Trail Blazers and I know they will stand behind Greg and the team during his recovery," said Trail Blazers president Larry Miller. "We believe our fans and sponsors are going to continue to support us because they know we're headed in the right direction." The 7-foot, 257-pound Oden averaged 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots per game as a freshman for the national runner-up Buckeyes. "Certainly this is a setback, but our future is still incredibly bright," said Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard. "Is it disappointing? Yes. However, this is a great core of talent and players of strong character and will continue to be."