Joe Freeman of the Oregonian reports:
The team announced that Greg Oden, the talented rookie center who was selected No. 1 in this year's NBA draft, is expected to undergo exploratory arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday after enduring ongoing pain in his right knee.
Blazers officials would not comment beyond a four-sentence news release issued Monday evening that said Oden underwent a magnetic resonance imaging last week and results revealed that he may have cartilage problems in the knee.
A team source told The Oregonian that the MRI results were inconclusive and that the damage could be as minor as a cartilage injury or as major as a ligament tear. The source added that if doctors find something more severe, they would operate immediately Thursday.
A timetable for Oden's return will be set following the arthroscopic surgery, which will be performed by Trail Blazers team physician Don Roberts at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver.