Amare Stoudemire could be sidelined for two months, the second straight season the New York Knicks forward will miss significant time because of injury.

The Knicks said on Tuesday that Stoudemire would have left knee surgery and could be out six to eight weeks, more than twice as long as originally estimated when he was hurt during the preseason.

The team said he will have a debridement, a procedure to remove tissue.

"It's tough. I mean, Amare's a big piece to our puzzle, man. I don't care how you slice it," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We'll be here when he gets back, that's for sure. We've just got to hold the fort down until he's able to get back in a uniform and on the floor playing."

Stoudemire missed the first two preseason games with a bruised left knee, then scored 18 points in 27 minutes against Toronto on Oct 19. He was bothered by more pain and the Knicks announced he had a ruptured cyst and would be sidelined two to three weeks.

But he and the Knicks decided after further discussion and consultation to have the procedure.

Stoudemire struggled through an injury-filled 2011-12, though none of his problems were with his surgically repaired knee.

Associated Press

(China Daily 11/01/2012 page24)