Odom out at least a month with knee injury

Dec 13, 2006 - 9:41 PM EL SEGUNDO, California (Ticker) - Lamar Odom's career season was put on hold Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he found out for how long.

Odom was examined by Los Angeles Lakers team orthopedist Dr. Steve Lombardo on Wednesday and has been diagnosed with a medial collateral sprain of his right knee. Odom is expected to be out a minimum of four weeks.

A 6-10 forward, Odom sprained the MCL in his right knee during an awkward fall when Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier blocked his shot in the Lakers' 102-94 win at Houston on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old left the game with 10:01 remaining in the first quarter and was taken to the hospital for an MRI.

With superstar Kobe Bryant recovering from offseason knee surgery and not yet at full strength, Odom has stepped up.

In his third season with the Lakers, he is averaging a career-high 18.4 points, a team-leading 9.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.