Wizards G Arenas 'not close' to return

Jan 12, 2009 - 9:37 PM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who underwent three knee surgeries in a 17-month span, has said he is "not even close to returning" from his most recent operation.

The three-time All-Star told the Washington Post over the weekend there is uncertainty surrounding his return from the arthroscopic surgery on his left knee that was performed on September 17.

Arenas, who signed a six-year, $111 million contract extension in July, was expected to be out between three and four months. He had targeted December as a return, but then changed it to "sometime after January 1," according to the Washington Post.

But Arenas has not begun practicing with the team yet, and with the Wizards (7-29) struggling, "Agent Zero" has begun to question what good his return would do.

"I don't know," Arenas told the Post. "I mean, seven wins? Would you (return)? And truthfully, right now, I'm not even close."

Arenas has been playing two-on-two games with teammates as recently as last Monday, but his knee has not been responding as well as he had hoped, which is the reason he is less than optimistic about a return.

"It's a matter of recovery," Arenas told the Post. "It's taking a good two or three days to recover, depending on how hard I go when playing two-on-two. So, I'm not even sure. What am I gonna do, play a game here, play five minutes a game there?"

Arenas had season-ending surgery in April 2007, then returned for the first eight games of last campaign before going under the knife again in November. The seven-year veteran averaged 19.1 points and 5.4 assists in 13 games last season.

Arenas has career averages of 22.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 431 games with Golden State and Washington.