A Wizards press release:
Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld announced today that guard Gilbert Arenas has sustained a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee, and the tear will be repaired by arthroscopic surgery. Arenas, who suffered the injury in the first quarter of Washington's game vs. Charlotte on April 4, is expected to be out for 2-3 months.
"Gilbert was performing at an elite level," Grunfeld said. "It's unfortunate that this injury occurred, but being the competitor that he is, Gilbert will approach his rehab regimen with the same work ethic that has made him one of the league's most outstanding performers. We expect him to make a full recovery, and we know that his teammates will be up to the challenge to respond in his absence."
Arenas will undergo arthroscopic surgery today at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC. The surgery will be performed by Wizards team physician Dr. Marc Connell. Arenas will begin rehabilitation next week, and is expected to make a full recovery.
UPDATE: Video of his injury. Arenas was caught in a sandwich between Gerald Wallace and Jake Voskuhl. No chance Voskuhl is getting a Christmas card from Arenas this year. He grabbed Arenas apparently in the hope of getting a rebound, but ended up being that machine that stands up the pins at the bowling alley. Wallace was that perfect ball that nails a solitary pin -- in this case, Arenas -- to save the spare.
The news could hardly hit harder for Wizards fans. The team had a nice little season going, and now without Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas they're everybody's pick to lose in the first round. If there was some way they could lose even earlier in the playoffs, I'm quite certain they'd do that.
Wizznutzz reacts with wizzdom: "No juice is tuffer than the fresh-squeezed brine of inevitable defeat. And that is the brine in which we shall pickle for the next six months." (Yes, I realize that's in fact a reaction to Caron Butler's injury, but no one's going to top it for a lyrical capturing of the mood, so it belongs here nonetheless.)
Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog:
The world ends, again. How many times can the world end in one day?
"It's unfortunate that this injury occurred," Ernie Grunfeld says in the release, which is one way to put it.
Caron Butler: "You start feeling good about yourself, and then everything goes wrong. I'm telling you, we don't need a weight room, we need a preacher."
That's another way to put it.
You wouldn't believe how many smiles we've seen here at practice, though. Seriously. Everyone who walks by is smiling. Maybe they figure there's no way things can get worse. If only.
UPDATE: The Basketball Jones imagines how Gilbert will react on his blog.
