The New York Knicks have confirmed that Carmelo Anthony will miss up to six months in order to undergo knee surgery, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
The forward has been struggling with a knee problem for the majority of the season so far, so will have a patella tendon debridement and repair in order to get him ready for the start of the next campaign.
Team president Phil Jackson said at a press conference: "What we're finding out from the medical is on court, it could be four to six months.
"We can't put it at a timetable until after the surgery. But that's what they're saying. They say it can be anywhere between four to six months for Carmelo to be back on the floor.
"But we're really confident he'll heal well and he'll be fine. He could tweak it as he has a number of times this year and because of some discomfort and inability to play at time, so we felt comfortable with him playing in the All-Star Game."
Anthony has averaged 24.2 points per game this season.