By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
For nearly two and a half months, up until Tuesday, Knicks reserve forward Rasheed Wallace had been listed on the team’s injury report with what it called a ‘sore left foot.’ Most onlookers believed there was more to the injury than that and on Wednesday afternoon, those people were proven correct.
The Knicks announced on Wednesday that new X-rays to Wallace’s left foot showed progression to a fractured left fifth metatarsal, otherwise known as a Jones fracture. Surgery is scheduled for this week and recovery time is approximately eight weeks.
“It’s a setback,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said before the team met Golden State at MSG. “He’s just gotta have the surgery and go from there.”
He added: “It’s a blow I’m sure for him mentally because he wanted to play.”
That timetable means Wallace’s regular season is over, but he will be kept on the roster in the hopes that he could return for a first-round playoff series.
“Hopefully,” Woodson said of a possible playoff return.
Woodson said the Knicks did not consider releasing Wallace outright.
Wallace has been sidelined since Dec. 13, but had played well before the injury, averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game over 20 games. Wallace came out of a two-year retirement, signing with the Knicks on Oct. 3 for one year and the veteran’s minimum of roughly $1.35 million. For his career, Wallace has averaged 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds across 16 seasons.
With Wallace out and Marcus Camby having not played sine Jan. 10 while dealing with plantar fasciitis, the Knicks went out and signed veteran big man Kenyon Martin to a 10-day contract on Saturday. Camby has scrimmaged in practice and appears close to a return, while Martin continues to get acclimated. The Knicks are home to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday evening , at the Washington Wizards on Friday evening and home to the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon.
“Camby’s getting close,” Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said after practice on Tuesday. “He scrimmaged a little today, so we gotta gauge it and see how he feels tomorrow.
