Charlotte Hornets’ Ramon Sessions: Knee surgery is not automatic

Charlotte Hornets backup point guard Ramon Sessions said Saturday it isn’t automatic he will need surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee.

Sessions was diagnosed with that injury Friday, after he came down awkwardly from a jump in Wednesday’s road loss to the Golden State Warriors.

“It’s not automatic surgery. From what the doctor in Utah saw, it wasn’t the worst tear. It was a little tear,” Sessions said. “Surgery or not, we don’t know. But it already feels better than it did the first night.”

Sessions was ruled out for Saturday night’s road game against the Utah Jazz. His knee will be re-evaluated in Charlotte after the Hornets fly home Sunday.

Sessions has never had an injury that required surgery in his 10-season NBA career. He could tell quickly in the Golden State game that he was seriously hurt.

“In the first half I made a pass to Marvin (Williams). I jumped in the air to pass it, and I came down on my left leg, and it just locked up. When I went back down the court, it started dragging a bit,” Sessions recalled.

“When I went back to the bench and sat down, when I tried to get up, I knew something was wrong. It was throbbing just to bend it to get out of the seat.”

Sessions said Friday’s diagnosis of a slight tear was a relief.

“I was afraid it was something worse, because it was so painful,” Sessions said. “I’ve never felt that much pain in my career.”

With Sessions out, Brian Roberts was scheduled to back up Kemba Walker at point guard Saturday.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets’ Ramon Sessions: Knee surgery is not automatic."