Portland Trail Blazers: Joel Przybilla Re-ruptures Patella Tendon

UPDATE 1:

The Blazers just tweeted the following:

Joel Przybilla underwent successful surgery tonight to repair a re-ruptured right patella tendon. No timetable has been set for his return.

UPDATE 2 :

Release from the team regarding surgery:

PORTLAND, Ore.-- Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla underwent successful surgery this evening to repair a re-ruptured right patella tendon.

Dr. Don Roberts performed the two-hour procedure at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash.

No timetable has been set for his return to the court.

Przybilla originally ruptured his right patella tendon in a Dec. 22 game at Dallas and underwent season-ending surgery on Dec. 24. He re-ruptured the tendon March 6 after slipping in the shower at his home in Milwaukee, Wis., where he was rehabilitating.

Przybilla, 30, averaged 4.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.43 blocked shots in 30 games (nine starts) this season before the injury. A six-year Trail Blazer, he ranks sixth in franchise history with 593 blocked shots.

So you probably know about this already, but I'll give you the official details regardless:

PORTLAND, Ore. - Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla will undergo surgery on his right patella tendon in the next few days.

Przybilla re-ruptured his right patella tendon Saturday morning after slipping in the shower at his home in Milwaukee, Wis.

He returned to Portland today to undergo an MRI, which revealed the rupture.

Przybilla originally ruptured the tendon in a Dec. 22 game at Dallas. He underwent season-ending surgery on Dec. 24 and was in Milwaukee rehabilitating the injury.

No timetable is available for his return to the court.

Honestly, given Joel's age and the fact that it's a re-rupture, I think this is potentially worse than the first injury.

Can Joel recover from this?

He has to be psychologically destroyed right now. A set back of this magnitude is enough to make most big men retire as soon as possible. But Joel is not your average Joe: he's the toughest SOB in the NBA, and I doubt he'll give up that easy. I really wish him all the best in the recovery and hope to see him back at full strength sometime next season.