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Ryan Anderson out at least 1-2 months, may need surgery (1/13/14)

Ryan Anderson out at least 1-2 months, may need surgery

By: Jim Eichenhofer, Pelicans.com, @Jim_Eichenhofer

 

 

Speaking to the media for the first time since he was injured in Boston on Jan. 3, New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson said that he will spend the next 1-2 months resting and recuperating, before being examined by doctors. At that time, physicians will determine whether Anderson’s herniated disc injury will require season-ending surgery.

“I’m going to get another MRI within the next month or two months, depending on how the healing goes,” Anderson said. “I will either get surgery if it’s not healing properly, or if my body (heals the injury naturally) – which the doctors say there’s a good chance it will – then I’ll get back to normal exercise and get back on the court, hopefully.”

The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder’s injury is to his C5 and C6 discs. If Anderson does need surgery, he was told by doctors that it is a relatively safe procedure, similar to what NFL quarterback Peyton Manning underwent in 2011, prior to excelling for the Denver Broncos the past two seasons. Doctors do not believe Anderson’s injury is a career-threatening one.

Short-term at least, Anderson will not be able to travel with the team to road games. The sixth-year NBA veteran has been told to continue to rest this week, a necessary component to his initial recovery from the injury.

“The number one thing I know right now is to take this week of rest,” Anderson said. “Then in the next month to two months, I’ll get an MRI to check to see how the healing is going. I can’t really do much about it until I get the MRI. That will be the doctor’s call (on) when that happens. The hardest part right now is just being away from the team. It’s hard because I haven’t been able to do much. Moving forward, I definitely want to be a leader and an encourager (for teammates) off the court, being a vocal guy. This is such a young group. We need veteran-leadership guys to step up, and this is an opportunity for me to do that vocally.”