Westbrook Has Surgery, To Miss Beginning Of Season

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier today, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced.

"Russell has been incredible in his work and rehabilitation. He has been pain-free and has performed at a high level during practice, but has experienced recent swelling that had not subsided," Presti said.

"After careful consideration and recommendations from the medical team, we elected to do the procedure today based on our consulting physician's belief that the swelling would be alleviated, and in turn give Russell the best chance for sustained performance throughout the season and beyond. During the procedure it was determined that the source of swelling was due to a loose stitch, and fortunately we were also able to confirm that the meniscus has healed properly."

Westbrook is expected to miss the first four-to-six weeks of the 2013-14 regular season.

Presti said the Thunder had already informed the NBA that Westbrook would not be making the trips to Turkey and England for exhibition games due to recovery from the initial surgery.

Presti said the loose stitch was an outlier and that it hadn't been ailing Russell in practice, but that it needed addressing and also gave the team a chance to evaluate the meniscus Westbrook had repaired.

"Progress (on the meniscus) has been nothing short of spectacular," Presti said. "He's obviously disappointed because he feels great and looks great."

But Presti reiterated that the loss of time on the court was outweighed by the gain of confidence that Westbrook's meniscus is healing perfectly.

"When Russell does come back and join us, he'll be better than ever."