Greg Oden, the top pick in this year's NBA draft, likely will miss his first season with the Portland Trail Blazers after surgery on his right knee Thursday.
Doctors found cartilage damage during an exploratory procedure, and team physician Dr. Don Roberts performed microfracture surgery to repair the damage.
"There are things about this 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," Roberts said in a statement. "All those are good signs for a complete recovery from microfracture surgery."
The 7-foot center is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said.
Oden was the top pick in the June draft out of Ohio State, where he averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds.
The Blazers have scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon to discuss Oden's situation.
