BATON ROUGE — LSU sophomore forward Brandon Bass underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery Friday morning to repair a lateral meniscus tear.
The surgery was performed following an MRI on the knee late Thursday afternoon after Bass disclosed discomfort in the knee.
“Brandon sustained a lateral meniscus tear to the left knee,” said LSU Sr. Associate Trainer/Head Basketball Trainer Drew Shea. “The cause of the injury is unknown, but appears to be from previous activity. Dr. Larry Ferachi, the LSU team physician, performed arthroscopic surgery this morning. The prognosis is good and plans are for aggressive rehabilitation. He is expected to return to full activity in approximately four weeks.”
Bass was the SEC Freshman of the Year after the 2003-04 season in which he averaged 12.8 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. He was also on the Collegeinsider.com All-Freshman team, a second team Freshman All-America pick by Rivals.com and the 2004 Dick Vitale SEC Diaper Dandy. The Baton Rouge product also had good success in the classroom, earning a spot on the SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll.
“It is unfortunate this has happened to Brandon because he is such a fine young person and a valuable part of our team,” said LSU men’s basketball head coach John Brady. “But it is not a serious injury and he will be able to fully recover and be ready for our November 9th exhibition game. There is not a player anywhere that will outwork Brandon and we know because of that attitude and approach his healthy return will not be a concern.”
The Tigers open practice Oct. 16 and the first regular season game is scheduled for Nov. 19 against Tulane in the nightcap of the first-round of the Louisiana Classic at the Maravich Assembly Center.