At the morning shootaround, Kenyon Martin talked about how good it felt to feel good again. By nightfall, he was down in the dumps, facing yet another knee surgery.

An MRI on Wednesday night revealed loose cartilage that needs to be removed through arthroscopy.

``I won't be out the entire season, but I have no idea at this point,'' the Denver Nuggets forward said about a timetable for his return.

At the Nuggets' shootaround, Martin talked about how good his surgically repaired left knee felt and how he was getting back to full strength for the first time since undergoing microfracture surgery 18 months ago.

He was taped up and ready to play against the New York Knicks when a team doctor went into the locker room and sent him for tests on his swollen right knee.

``Right now I'm at a loss for words, you know what I'm saying? I worked my butt off in training camp. For this to happen now, I'm down in the dumps,'' Martin told The Associated Press. ``But I've dealt with worse, so I've just got to fight through it.''

Last year, Martin was limited to a career-low 56 games and he was suspended in the playoffs for his tirade at the coaching staff for limiting his minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Conventional wisdom said K-Mart had played his last game for Denver, but with five years and more than US$66 million left on his contract, he didn't get a ticket out of town that everybody expected.

Instead, he and coach George Karl patched up their relationship.

Martin, who averaged 9.5 points and 10 rebounds in Denver's first two games, said he has no idea how or when he hurt his ``good'' knee.

``That's the most frustrating thing,'' Martin said. ``I have no clue. None whatsoever. How I did it or what day I did it.''

He's just wondering when his luck will turn.

``I need something. Rabbit's foot, something,'' he said. ``I have no idea at this point what Kenyon needs to do.''

At least the Nuggets have a bevy of big men again this season, including Reggie Evans and Joe Smith.

``This is an unfortunate situation that you hate to see a teammate go through, but at the same time this is where the depth helps,'' Smith said.

Eduardo Najera, who replaced him in the lineup Wednesday night, called Martin's loss a big blow.

``It's very difficult to lose him. He's been a leader and he sets the tone with his aggressive play and personality,'' Najera said. ``It will take some time for us to adjust.

``I think that Martin is irreplaceable, but combined all our big
guys can do a pretty good job.''

© The Canadian Press, 2007