UCLA Redshirt Petruska Has Surgery to Remove Part of Disk in His Back

Richard Petruska, expected to be UCLA’s starting center next basketball season, underwent surgery Tuesday to have part of a disk removed from his back, according to Dr. Rick Delamarter, who performed the procedure.

“Everything went super in surgery,” Delamarter said. “He’ll be out of the hospital (today), and we’ll start him training in about four weeks. He’ll be back in action here in a couple of months.”

A 6-foot-10, 260-pound native of Levice, Czechoslovakia, Petruska was ineligible to play this season after transferring from Loyola Marymount, where last season he averaged 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds a game and was the only sophomore named to the All-West Coast Conference team.