O’Bannon to Have Surgery on Left Knee

UCLA announced Monday that basketball player Ed O’Bannon will undergo arthroscopic surgery today to determine the cause of excessive swelling in his surgically repaired left knee, putting in doubt his status for the season.

It is doubtful that O’Bannon will be ready to play in the Bruins’ opener against Indiana Nov. 15 at Springfield, Mass.

Team physician Gerald Finerman said last month that if O’Bannon required further surgery, the second-year freshman probably would need at least three weeks to recuperate from it.

And that is if no further damage is found, Finerman said.

During surgery, the doctor said, he will look for a cartilage tear, which if found could cause the 6-foot-8 forward to sit out a second consecutive season.

One of the nation’s top recruits as a senior at Lakewood Artesia High two years ago, O’Bannon was injured during a pickup game on Oct. 9, 1990, underwent reconstructive surgery nine days later and sat out last season.

His rehabilitation seemed to be going well until his knee swelled two months ago.

Finerman said last month that it was not uncommon for swelling to occur in a surgically repaired knee, but that O’Bannon’s knee was “swollen beyond what I feel is appropriate for him to be out there playing.”

He prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine in an attempt to curb the swelling and limited O’Bannon to non-contact drills in practice, which started Oct. 15.