The euphoric aftermath of the Trail Blazers' electric start to the exhibition season was dealt a somber dose of news Wednesday when
Martell Webster, the front-runner to start at small forward, was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot.
Webster, who unbeknown to the Blazers had been experiencing discomfort throughout training camp, finally told the team Tuesday night after playing a painful 26 minutes against the
Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-7 sharpshooter had X-Rays taken Tuesday night and underwent magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography testing on Wednesday, which revealed the injury to his fifth metatarsal.
Webster is expected to miss at least eight weeks -- and potentially as many as 20 or 25 games -- but an official timetable for his return will be determined Thursday after he undergoes further examination. The team has not yet determined if Webster will undergo surgery or simply rehabilitate his left foot.
"We lost a piece of this team and I think an important piece," coach Nate McMillan said. "He was one of the guys this year who could help us spread the floor and take some of that pressure off the low-post game and (we were) hoping he would have a big year. We'll have to make adjustments."
Webster did not appear injured against the Kings as he had multiple highlight-reel dunks, including an alley-oop from Rudy Fernandez late in the fourth quarter, and finished with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds while playing more than any of his teammates.
He entered training camp in exquisite shape after working throughout the offseason and had talked about putting together a consistent season for the first time in his four-year career. Now an extended rehab looms -- surgery or not.
"He's disappointed because he worked hard this summer," McMillan said. "You don't want to start the season off with an injury because a lot of times when ... you try to rehab an injury during the season, you normally will be rehabbing all season long. So it was disappointing for him. But as I tell him, it's not a season-ending injury. Best thing is to listen to the doctors, find the best way to take care of this problem and get back as soon as possible."
Though Webster was the front-runner, he and Travis Outlaw had been competing for the starting small forward spot. In Webster's absence, Outlaw, one of the NBA's best sixth men last season, will assume the position. Besides Webster, perhaps the only other option for McMillan is to slide All-Star Brandon Roy to small forward and insert one of two rookies, Fernandez or Jerryd Bayless, at shooting guard.
Roy played some small forward last season and again in Tuesday night's exhibition opener and said earlier in training camp he had no problem playing the position.
"There's not a lot of combinations you can go with (at small forward)," McMillan said. "And that's something we'll decide once we get closer to opening night. You never know what's going to happen."
Webster, who was not at the Rose Garden for Wednesday night's game, has to be thinking the same thing. After starting 70 games in 2007-08, his season came to an abrupt end when he experienced an irregular heartbeat in early April and was shut down for the final seven games of the season.
In an interview last week, Webster said the frightening injury made him appreciate his time in NBA that much more.
"That was a very serious time," Webster said, referring to April and his heart scare. "I used that to help me realize that you can't take this game for granted. In two seconds from now, something can happen and basketball can be taken away and that's how I'm treating it. That was an eye-opener for me, knowing that this isn't going to last forever and any type of condition or disease can come in at any time and that's it."
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 9 (AP) -- Guard Rudy Fernandez and center Joel Przybilla will not travel with the Portland Trail Blazers for their game in Kansas City against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. 
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