Wolves' Roy will miss one month after right knee surgery

Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy will reportedly undergo knee surgery. (David Sherman/Getty Images)

By Ben Golliver

Five games into a comeback after a season spent away from the game, Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

The Oregonian reported Sunday that Roy, who has missed Minnesota's last four games because of knee pain, will undergo the surgery this week.

The Timberwolves announced that Roy underwent the surgery on Monday and will be sidelined for roughly one month, causing him to miss a Friday game at  the Rose Garden in Portland, where he made his name as a three-time All-Star during a five-year career with the Blazers.

The Timberwolves have already sustained a rash of injuries. Point guard Ricky Rubio is still rehabilitating from a serious knee injury last year, forward Chase Budinger recently underwent knee surgery, and All-Star forward Kevin Love broke bones in his hand earlier this fall. Guard J.J. Barea and center Nikola Pekovic have also recently dealt with minor injuries.

Roy was signed by the Timberwolves to a two-year contract worth a reported $10 million this summer after spending the 2011-12 season in unofficial retirement. Roy was released by the Blazers using the amnesty clause in December 2011, and he went unclaimed during waiver process after making it known he intended not to play last season.

A change of heart followed, though, and Roy began working out with friends in Seattle. He even underwent a new-age blood spinning procedure as he got further along the path towards his NBA return. During a July press conference, Roy said he was hoping to play 35 minutes per game at a "high level" for the Timberwolves.

"That's the only reason I'm coming back," he said. "I told [Timberwolves GM] David [Kahn] when we met, I said I wouldn't be coming back if I didn't think I couldn't reach a high level of basketball. ... I want to play at a high level. Right now, my body is giving me all signs that I can do that."

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman worked with Roy to manage his minutes during training camp and preseason, and Roy provided mostly positive reports of his health throughout the fall. Roy apparently bumped knees on multiple occasiosn, though, and was held out of a Nov. 10 game against the Bulls with what the Timberwolves called "knee soreness." He then did not play in games against the Mavericks, Bobcats and Warriors this week.