( 4UMF NEWS ) Amar’e Stoudemire Out For Five Weeks:

Amar’e Stoudemire is seeking a second opinion to determine the severity of the left knee injury that could keep the Knicks power forward sidelined for the first month of the NBA regular season.

Stoudemire is consulting with Phoenix Suns orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Carter, according to a Suns source. Dr. Carter performed microfracture surgery on Stoudemire’s left knee in 2005. It is customary, and in some cases encouraged by teams, that players get a second opinion from an independent physician.

The Knicks team doctors discovered that Stoudemire suffered a ruptured cyst on his left knee during last week’s exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors. The timetable given by the Knicks for Stoudemire’s return is two to four weeks but the same source says a more plausible timetable is four to five weeks.

Under that scenario, the Knicks will be without their second leading scorer for most of November when they’ll play 15 games in the month, including nine on the road.

It is unclear if head coach Mike Woodson will start Carmelo Anthony at power forward or go with a more traditional lineup by starting Kurt Thomas. Of course, Woodson isn’t absolutely certain that veteran center Tyson Chandler will be available for Thursday’s season opener against the Nets in Brooklyn.

Chandler told reporters on Friday that he “absolutely” plans to play after an MRI of his injured left knee showed only a bone bruise. Chandler originally feared that he suffered ligament damage after bumping knees with the Nets Gerald Wallace in Wednesday’s preseason finale on Long Island.

“I never had anything like that before, didn’t know what to expect, didn’t know what it felt like,” Chandler said. “It’s a weird, awkward feeling, the night before not sleeping until you get the MRI. That was the best thing I could’ve heard that everything was intact.”

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