Bucks C Bogut, F Villanueva out for remainder of season

Mar 22, 2007 - 7:20 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Center Andrew Bogut and forward Charlie Villanueva will miss the remainder of the season due to injuries, the Milwaukee Bucks announced on Wednesday.

The announcement was made during the second quarter of Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, and general manager Larry Harris held a press conference at the half.

Sidelined due to left midfoot sprain, Bogut missed a game for the first time in his young career. The top overall pick in 2005, Bogut suffered the injury against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 7, and re-injured it in practice on Tuesday.

"It really started when he turned his ankle against the Lakers," Harris said. "We really thought it was just an ankle sprain. Then the foot started swelling up and down and after every game, he was in pain. It became a situation where it became more and more painful."

Bogut will have his foot immobilized for two to four weeks, and is expected to resume basketball activity in six to eight weeks.

"We spoke to the doctor and asked him if I could play if we made the playoffs, and he said no," Bogut said after the game. "That was one thing that he stressed. It doesn't matter if we're in the playoff hunt. I have to take time off. There's not much more I can really do."

A native of Australia, Bogut averaged 12.3 points and a team-leading 8.9 rebounds in 66 games this season.

Villanueva is out due to a recurring right shoulder injury that will require arthroscopic surgery. The second-year forward had missed the previous two games due to the injury.

"He will have surgery in New York, probably within the week," Harris said.

The GM admitted that the team does not know how long Villanueva will be sidelined until after the surgery is performed.

"It's arthroscopic surgery, so when they go in there, it's more exploratory," he said. "It could be a short amount of time, it could be a longer amount of time. We won't know how long he'll be out until they go in there and we know where the shoulder is and the degree of the surgery."

Acquired from Toronto in an offseason trade that included T.J. Ford, Villanueva has appeared in just 39 games this season due to the recurring shoulder injury. He was averaging 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds.

"It's unfortunate for him because he's never been hurt," Harris said. "He never missed a game other than a stomach virus he had last year in Toronto. Injuries have just piled up on us. It came a point where he'd shoot around and the pain never subsided. This is absolutely the right decision."

Following Wednesday night's game with the Clippers, the Bucks have 15 games remaining.