Advertisement

Danilo Gallinari will miss remainder of season

Danilo Gallinari will miss remainder of season

Nine months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari will miss the entire 2013-14 season after having reconstructive surgery on Tuesday.

Gallinari, 25, is expected to be able to return to the Nuggets early in the 2014-15 season, sources said.

Shortly after suffering the knee injury in an April 4 game against the Dallas Mavericks, Gallinari had surgery to repair a torn meniscus but the ACL reconstruction was delayed. There had been a belief on the doctor's part that the ACL could be strengthened to play again without the traditional procedure, but that never happened, sources said.

Nuggets surgeon Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery in Denver on Tuesday morning. He did not perform the initial procedure.

Gallinari had the initial knee surgery done at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo. The initial procedure to correct the ACL injury was called "Healing Response." It was later determined full reconstructive surgery was needed.

Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly called the initial procedure "insufficient" in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

Gallinari averaged 16.3 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Nuggets last season.