Amar’e Stoudemire will be out indefinitely with a bulging disk in his back.
Stoudemire had yet to miss any action this season due to his back until he tweaked it during Saturday night’s win over the Pistons. STAT who was forced out of the Knicks playoff match-up with the Celtics last season with a back injury was said to be 100% this season.
After the game Amar’e claimed that his back had just tightened up on him a bit, but that he would be good to go for tonight’s match-up with the Bucks. He initially believed it was just muscle tightness.
There was obviously concern considering how his back effected the team during last years playoffs but I wasn’t overly worried until I heard he missed this mornings shoot-around in Westchester.
Word came down late this afternoon that he was being taken for an MRI, which was a huge red flag for me.Apparently he will be having a non-surgical procedure done to fix the issue, but there is currently no timetable for his return.
Of course this happens just as he starts playing his best basketball of the season. Without Stoudemire this teams playoffs chance take a major blow. Hopefully he returns sooner rather than later but I’ve got a bad feeling that Saturday might have been the last time we will see Stoudemire this season.
I really hope I’m wrong.
