Greg Oden, the top pick in this year's NBA draft, likely will miss his first season with the Portland Trail Blazers after surgery on his right knee yesterday.

Doctors found cartilage damage during an exploratory procedure, and team physician Dr. Don Roberts performed microfracture surgery to repair the damage.

"There are things about this that are positive for Greg. First of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal," Roberts said in a statement. "All those are good signs for a complete recovery from microfracture surgery."

The 7-foot (2.13-meter) center is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said.

Oden was the top pick in the June draft after playing for Ohio State in college, where he averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds

(Shanghai Daily via Agencies September 14, 2007)