Greg Oden Undergoes Another Surgery
Added on Feb 21, 2012 by Scott in
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The injury riddled career of Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden suffered another major setback on Monday after a second microfracture procedure was performed on his crippled left knee. The surgery was supposed to be a simple clean-out, but doctors discovered more significant damage once inside and determined microfracture was the best course of action.
The Trail Blazers offered words of support for Oden and his family.
“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,” Trail Blazers president Larry Miller said in a prepared statement.
Obviously, Oden won’t play this season, and hasn’t suited up since December of 2009. In addition to the two microfractures on his left knee, he has also suffered a busted left kneecap and underwent another microfracture on his right knee. Basically, his knees are completely shot.
The 24-year-old seven-footer will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, but at this point it’s unlikely any team would show interest in a player that missed over two full years of action. However, Blazers acting general manager Chad Buchanan isn’t ready to slam the door on Oden’s career.
“Greg’s still very young, in relative terms, for a professional basketball player. He’s recovered from a couple of these before — his last two microfracture lesions have healed fine,” Buchanan said. “So there’s no reason to think he couldn’t come back as long as he shows the work ethic and desire that he’s had in the past to come back. I think it’s premature to speculate anything beyond that.”
To say he’s “recovered” from the other procedures would be inaccurate. If he had recovered he wouldn’t have needed another surgery to repair the defective knee. Despite Buchanan’s glass half full outlook, the odds Oden will ever play again are remote at best.
Not many legitimate doctors are going to recommend a 300-pound man with a pair of wrecked knees to run and jump for a living. The writing has been on the wall for the last two years. It’s time everyone start reading it and admit Oden is finished.
Source: ESPN.com
