Oden: ‘I’m sorry’

Rookie out for the season after microfracture surgery on right knee

By Kerry Eggers

LocalNewsDaily.com, Sep 13, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (38 Reader comments)

L.E. BASKOW / TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

After undergoing surgery Thursday morning that will cause him to miss the 2007-08 NBA season, Greg Oden had one thing to say to Trail Blazer General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

"Greg looked at me and said 'sorry' 20 times," Pritchard says. "I could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders."

Pritchard's reaction: "How lucky we were that cares about the organization that much, and second, that we have to help this kid get through this. We picked the right kid, I can’t overemphasize how bad he felt. He hasn’t let us down at all. He came here early, he was working on getting in shape.

"The first thing I told Greg was it's not his fault."

Exploratory surgery revealed cartilage damage that required microfracture surgery — much more serious than the Blazers had hoped.

"He was found to have articular cartilage damage in his right knee," says Dr. Don Roberts, who performed the surgery at Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash. "The area of injury was not large, and we were able to treat it with microfracture, which stimulates the growth of cartilage. There are things about 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 microfracture surgery."

Oden is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Recovery time from microfracture surgery varies from person to person but generally takes six to 12 months for full recovery.

"Certainly this is a setback, but our future is still incredibly bright," Pritchard says. "Is it disappointing? Yes. However, this is a great core of talent and players of strong character and will continue to be."

Oden was the No. 1 draft pick in June. He averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds for Ohio State last season, leading the Buckeyes to the NCAA national championship game as a freshman.

Prtichard says Oden had some swelling and discomfort in his knee after a run on the track last Thursday.

"We talked to multiple doctors, including some of the best in the world, and sent them the MRIs and confered with Dr. Roberts," Pritchard says. "The MRIs were absolutely pristine." But the Blazers felt Thursday's arthroscopic surgery was necessary, because "you don't get the same look (with MRIs) as you do going in there."

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