DENVER — Portland Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla, already out for the season, slipped while taking a shower at his home and ruptured the right patella tendon again that he tore in December, team officials said.

In a news conference prior to Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan said Przybilla would undergo surgery in the next few days to repair the tendon for a second time. He underwent a similar procedure Dec. 24, two days after he originally ruptured the tendon during a game against the Dallas Mavericks, ending his season.
“He will have to go through this all over again,” McMillan said.
The Blazers have been cursed at their center position this season. Starting center Greg Oden is out for the regular season with a patella injury. Even newly acquired center Marcus Camby missed tonight's game against Denver with a left ankle injury.
Przybilla was at his home in Milwaukee where he was in the midst of an injury rehabilitation program, when he slipped in the shower on Saturday morning. He returned to Portland on Sunday to undergo an MRI, which showed the tendon had again ruptured.
“We were told a week prior to this that he was doing great,” McMillan said. “I’m sure Joel was starting to feel better and got a little bit more comfortable. It’s one of those situations where you slip in the tub and the thing buckles.”
McMillan said it was too early to tell if the setback would affect his return next season.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think our medical staff will say until they decide on when they’re going to have surgery. After the surgery they will decide what exactly they need to do.”