Carmelo Anthony Injury: Updates on Knicks Star's Knee and Recovery

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony revealed Tuesday night that he's been  dealing with a knee injury since early in the season.

Steve Popper of The Record had the report:

Anthony, 30, is no stranger to various different minor ailments. Rarely has a season passed where he hasn't been forced to battle through an injury. He's in his 12th season in the league and hasn't played a complete 82-game slate since his rookie campaign.

What the Knicks are always hoping to avoid is a more serious ailment. He's the unquestioned leader of the team on the offensive end and New York would struggle mightily to replace his scoring output for an extended period of time.

It should be noted Anthony worked hard during the offseason to improve his fitness level.

Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com spoke with the forward's trainer, Idan Ravin, who said there was no specific weight-loss goal. They simply wanted to get him to a point where he could rely on his body as he beings his 30s.

"In anything, you get older, and getting leaner and lighter helps with the longevity of your career," Ravin said. "He's played a lot of years. He puts a lot of mileage on his legs, so the leaner and lighter you are, obviously the better."

Alan Hahn of the MSG Network provided remarks about the effort from Anthony, who was optimism about the outlook:

Obviously no level of fitness is a guarantee a player will stay healthy, though. Now the question is how long Anthony might miss with the latest injury.

If he misses time, the effort to replace him will likely be collective. Iman Shumpert, Andrea Bargnani, Amar'e Stoudemire and rookie Cleanthony Early should all see an uptick in minutes. J.R. Smith probably assumes a larger scoring burden.

The outlook should be more clear once an update is provided on Anthony.