Breaking News: Blake Griffin Has Ligament Tear

We knew earlier today that Blake Griffin had some sort of knee injury, and if you watched the Team USA broadcast on ESPN last night, they were making it sound like it was really no bog deal (“He woke up this morning with some discomfort…”).

It appear as though things are a little more serious that that though.

From the L.A. Times tonight:

Blake Griffin has been diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his left knee and will have arthroscopic surgery probably early next week, according to NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Griffin will not be playing for the U.S. Olympic team in London later this month, but he will be available for Clippers training camp that starts in October.

Griffin is expected to be out about eight weeks recovering from the injury and should be fine and ready to play when the season starts, the executives said.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic will perform the surgery.

It’s the same knee that Griffin sprained in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies and the same knee ElAttrache performed season-ending surgery on for a stress fracture of the kneecap during Griffin’s rookie season, 2009-10.

Follow Patrick Cassidy on Twitter

Follow Dime Magazine on Twitter

Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook

×