The mystery has been solved.  Anderson Varejao's injury, which was diagnosed as a bruised right knee initially, had kept the Cavaliers center out of action for 11 straight games.  Now, we know why.  Varejao had a split leg muscle that needed to be repaired.  He underwent surgery yesterday.

According to the Associated Press, Varejao underwent surgery at the Cleveland Clinic for a torn quadriceps muscle near his knee.  An MRI revealed the extent of the injury after weeks of it being listed as a badly bruised knee.  Varejao is expected to miss at least six weeks.


The fact that Varejao's injury was more severe than initially reported is not surprising.  In fact, we hinted at the fact that the injury was probably not just a bruised knee as had been reported.  The news is both good and bad for the Cavs.  They know what is/was wrong with Varejao and have fixed the problem.  That's good.  Unfortunately, they will be without one of their best players for an additional six weeks.  That's bad.

Varejao has been having an impressive season this year.  He is averaging 14.1 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.  In his career, Varejao has averaged 7.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.  He is a key part of the Cavaliers offense, but the team has struggled regardless this season.  Cleveland is 9-28 this season.  They have gone 3-8 in Varejao's absence.
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