Amare Stoudemire
Just 8 days after signing a 5 year, $73 million dollar contract extension, Amare Stoudemire underwent surgery this week to repair damage to his left knee & will be sidelined for about 3 to 5 months. The extent of the injury to the dynamic young all star was determined during "diagnostic" surgery by team doctor Thomas Carter, who then proceeded with the micro fracture repair, Bryan Colangelo (Suns president) said.
Amare, who will turn 23 next month, signed for the maximum allowed under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement with the players union. The extension kicks in after this NBA season. The team projects Stoudemire to return around the All-Star break Feb. 17th-21rst. Doctor Carter detected the defect in an MRI exam several weeks ago & initially dealt with the issue through treatment & rest. Amare 1rst talked about some soreness 6 to 8 weeks ago, Colangelo said. After it became worse during last week's training camp in Tucson.
In a statement release, the Suns said Carter repaired a joint surface defect roughly 1 centimeter in diameter on the inside of Amare’s left knee. "The surgery went well & other than the defect that we treated today, Amare's knee is structurally healthy," the team says. "Given Stoudemire's young age & the nominal size of the location of the defect, I am very confident the micro fracture procedure will allow Amare a healthy & normal return to action."
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