Amare Stoudemire is expected to be out of action for about a month and a half due to injury. The New York Knicks on Tuesday said Stoudemire would have to undergo knee surgery which might take about six to eight weeks to recuperate.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson said: "It's tough. I mean, Amare's a big piece to our puzzle, man. I don't care how you slice it.
"We'll be here when he gets back, that's for sure. We've just got to hold the fort down until he's able to get back in a uniform and on the floor playing."
Stoudemire was unavailable for the first two preseason games due to an injured left knee. On Oct. 19, he scored 18 points in 27 minutes against the Toronto Raptors.
However, he experienced more pain after the game as his injury was aggravated. The Knicks finally announced that he had ruptured the cyst and would be ruled out for 2 to 3 weeks. In his subsequent talks with the Knicks, both decided surgery was necessary.
Stoudemire clearly struggled last season due to his injury. He missed as many as 15 games and attained his lowest average of 17.5 points.
The Knicks had hoped to bring Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony together this season.
Anthony said: "It's disappointing. I definitely thought this was going to be the season that we had a chance to go out there and play together in a full season, no injuries or things like that. But at the end of the day, you can't control that.
"You can't control what happens to your body, you can't control injuries. We want him to just be healthy. End of the day, when he's ready to come back, his jersey will be hanging in the locker and we'll be ready for him."
The Knicks can make Anthony play at Stoudemire's power forward spot. They were pretty successful when they tried it in the latter part of the previous season.
Tyson Chandler, the Knicks forward, who was diagnosed with a bruised bone was seen taking part in practice sessions on Monday. This is good news for the Knicks as they hope he will be available for the game against the Brooklyn Nets Thursday.
That game, however, is in danger of being postponed as New York is trying to recover from the after effects of Hurricane Sandy. There was considerable damage to the subway systems. Games for this week are still being evaluated as confirmed by the NBA.
Woodson said: "As far as I've been told it's still on and that hasn't changed so we're preparing to play Thursday."
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