Nuggets players can’t do anything about the continued swelling in Nene’s right knee, but they can reach out a hand and offer a pat on the back.
Nov. 21 will mark the one-year anniversary of Nene’s ACL surgery. It might be awhile before the fifth-year forward is fully recovered.
Nene sat out Sunday’s practice, although the team had a day off Saturday. He participated Monday in the full, two-hour workout and is expected to play Wednesday against the New York Knicks.
But taking occasional practices off likely will be part of his routine for some time.
“It’s something he’s dealing with, and we’re just going to have to rally behind him because he’s a big part of what we want to do,” center Marcus Camby said Monday. “You should see his knee after practices and after games, it swells up pretty bad. It looks like a grapefruit on the side of his knee.”
Nuggets trainer Jim Gillen said the swelling is neither alarming nor unexpected: “It’s just the normal process.”
Nuggets coach George Karl said the feeling among the medical staff has been that Nene might not be 100 percent until January.
“(Karl) knows I’m limited and he can’t push too much,” Nene said. “He knows if he pushes too much now, that could be trouble.”
Nene has averaged 11.5 points and five rebounds in two games, coming off the bench to log an average of 18.5 minutes. Nene wishes he could play more but jokes he already has seen more action this season than last. Nene tore his ACL three minutes into the last season’s opener.
Whenever Nene feels down, he makes a phone call to his pastor in Brazil. That always lifts his spirits, he said.
“I know my situation,” Nene said. “My body is healing slowly. You want it to happen faster, but you can’t make it happen faster.
“Right now, if I play a few days, my knee swells and it hurts. I just have to take a day off when I can.”
Nene’s game is based on strength, power and spring, an explosive combination that can make jaws drop. That burst on the blocks hasn’t returned, however.
“When I jump, I don’t get the push,” Nene said. “With the swelling, the muscles don’t get to fire. Until it gets better, I can get a couple of rebounds and help the team.”
Kenyon Martin, who missed 25 games last season due to knee tendinitis and other leg ailments, said he tried to help Nene through this.
“It’s tough to get into a groove of things and keep your conditioning up when you have to take days off,” Martin said.
Footnotes
Forward Eduardo Najera was excused from Monday’s practice for “personal reasons” but is expected to play Wednesday….Carmelo Anthony will be the cover player for this year’s edition of the 3-on-3 video game by EA Sports.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
