Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard will undergo back surgery on Friday morning in Los Angeles to repair a herniated disk, effectively ending his season and eliminating him from participation in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Howard's agent said on Thursday night.
"It hurts [emotionally]," Howard told ESPN the Magazine's Chris Broussard. "That's the first thing -- it hurts. And then with people saying and thinking I'm quitting on my team. This is a real issue. I tried to play through it and it just made my back worse."
Howard has been complaining of back problems since early March, but it wasn't until Los Angeles-based spine surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins examined him last week that the herniated disk was discovered.
Howard received an epidural to alleviate the pain at that time, and the plan was that he'd rest and rehabilitate his back for 10-14 days before deciding if he could return to play or further treatment might be necessary.
But his back has worsened and both Watkins and the Magic's medical staff determined that surgery is necessary.
Howard told Broussard he is not worried about any long-term ramifications from the surgery.
"The doctor said it's a one-inch incision," Howard told Broussard. "He said I can start rehab right away and be back to full contact in four months. So I'm not really concerned. If anything, I'll come back stronger."
Dan Fegan, Howard's agent, said he hopes this development debunks any thoughts that Howard's back problem was not serious and that he was utilizing it as an excuse not to play.
A report by WKMG in Orlando said Howard told Magic owner Rich DeVos in a recent phone call that he did not intend to play again for Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who put Howard in an awkward situation by announcing that management informed him his All-Star center had asked that he be fired. Fegan, along with other sources, have disputed that report.
"It's a completely made-up, B.S. story," one of Howard's representatives told ESPN.com.
Howard repeatedly has said, in spite of the Magic's up-and-down performance this season, that he believed the team was capable of winning a championship. Sources say he opted into the last year of his contract, in part, because the Magic threatened to trade him if he didn't, and he wanted to pursue a title with this Magic team before deciding his future.
"Dwight has never laid down once in his entire career," Fegan said. "It's absurd that some publicly, and others privately, speculated that Dwight was laying down or quitting. In fact, he was working his hardest to play through an injury which now requires surgery."
The back issues have forced Howard to miss eight games this season, one more game than he missed in his first seven seasons combined. His total of 621 games and 22,471 minutes is the most by a center in his first eight seasons in the modern-NBA era.
Dikembe Mutombo is next with 603 games and 22,138 minutes. For comparison, Shaquille O'Neal played 534 games and 20,148 minutes in his first eight seasons.
