Andrea Bargnani won't commit to return date from 'terrible' injury

The Knicks have gone 4-0 without an injured Andrea Bargnani. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Andrea Bargnani ruled himself out indefinitely with a torn ligament in his elbow while speaking to the media Thursday. The Knicks' power  forward is wearing an elbow brace for the injury that's kept him sidelined for more than a week.

While Bargnani said no surgery is planned and would not commit to a return date, an elbow surgeon interviewed by the New York Post said such an injury usually requires 3-to-6 weeks of therapy.

“I have no idea [on a return date],’’ Bargnani said. “It’s a ligament broke and you see how it heals and how strong the arm gets. You got to make sure it’s 100 percent. I really don’t know the timeline.’’

“It’s terrible, just terrible but what can you do,’’ said Bargnani. “Because it’s similar to last year, it’s even more frustrating. It’s terrible sitting out — the worst.’’

The elbow surgeon told The Post usually only baseball players and javelin throwers get the surgery — which could put him out one year.

The Knicks seem well prepared to play on without Bargnani, having switched to a small-ball lineup that has reeled off four straight wins in his absence.

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Coach Mike Woodson said he plans to stick with the small lineup, which features Carmelo Anthony shifting to Bargnani’s power forward position and two point guards, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni, in the lineup.

“The small lineup, we know that that works,’’ Woodson said. “Hey I don’t know if we’ll go away from it this time.’’

Woodson covered for the Knicks' success without Bargnani, saying the team wasn't healthy enough to develop chemistry with its second-leading scorer (13.7 points per game).

“I know big lineups and like Bargnani at that spot,’’ Woodson said. “That was the reason to bring him over [from Toronto]. But we haven’t had that chance to have that core group develop some chemistry. We haven’t had a chance to do that.’’