A few days before the Minnesota Timberwolves hit training camp and Media Day, they received some bad news that was like a lot of bad news they received last season. Chase Budinger had significant cartilage damage in his surgically repaired knee and he was going to require another procedure after visiting Dr. James Andrews. This was coming after missing 59 games with a lateral tear in his meniscus in 2012-13.
The Wolves announced Tuesday morning that Budinger underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee and a meniscectomy was performed. It's an injury that will keep him out "indefinitely" and more information would be made available "when appropriate." Those aren't exactly the words that Wolves fans were hoping to hear post-procedure. From the team:
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that Chase Budinger underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to perform a meniscectomy. The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews at the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Pensacola, Florida.
Budinger will be sidelined indefinitely. An update to Budinger’s status will be provided when appropriate.
A meniscectomy is a procedure in which the doctor removes the torn meniscus from the knee. It can be a full removal of the meniscus itself or it can sometimes be a partial removal of torn cartilage in the knee. Because of the arthroscopic incisions from the procedure, the actual healing of the wound from the surgery requires minimal time. Patients can often be back on their feet within a couple of days.
However, the actual healing in regards to inside the knee can be a bit tricky, depending on the severity of the repair and the severity of the removal of cartilage. The likelihood of Budinger missing the entire preseason and then some is high, but we'll have to wait and see what kind of timetable is eventually put on his recovery and return.
