Nene’s surgery to remove a testicular tumor Monday has the Nuggets thinking about more than just the hope their teammate pulls through. Keeping themselves familiar with what’s going on in their own bodies has become a priority.
“It makes you want to go get checked, that’s for sure,” forward Eduardo Najera said. “Sometimes we take things for granted. Luckily the drug test discovered that (for Nene). Me, personally, I wanted to go get a physical done, make sure that I’m doing fine. Because you never know, a little thing could be in your body and you’ve just got to take care of yourself.”
More tests need to be done to ensure Nene’s tumor wasn’t cancerous. Nuggets coach George Karl expects to know more “in the near future, by early next week for sure.”
A statement posted on — Nene’s website — early Thursday provided a quick blast of good news, saying, “According to reports presented by doctors, the exams show the tumor is benign.” That statement, however, was taken down later in the day.
The Nuggets refused comment on the website report.
“I still think we’re in a very early stage of the process,” Karl said. “The positive energy makes everybody feel pretty good right now, but I think it would be a little reckless if we would go and start making comments that we would have to take back later on.”
So the team continues to wait and hope and pray.
“Basketball is secondary,” center Marcus Camby said. “Even without being cancerous, he’s still going to be out a significant amount of time.”
Gutty Najera
Najera played Thursday for the second consecutive game with a hyperextended elbow. Karl said if Nene or Kenyon Martin had been available, Najera would not have played.
“The combination of how he plays creates a lot of banging on his body, so even when he’s not hurt, he’s hurt,” Karl said.
Martin close
Karl said Martin’s return from a staph infection will happen no later than Monday. “I would say we’re hopeful for Saturday, and probably pretty confident for Monday,” Karl said.
Chris Dempsey
