Matt Barnes tears meniscus in knee

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes suffered a tear of the lateral meniscus in his right knee in Friday's game against the New Orleans Hornets, an MRI revealed Saturday. Barnes exited the game with 5:22 remaining in the second quarter and did not return.

Barnes will undergo surgery sometime early next week, at which point the team will provide a timetable for his return, though Barnes tweeted Saturday night that he would be out for eight weeks.

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The injury occurred early on in the second quarter of the Lakers' 101-97 win when Barnes went up for a one-handed rebound and landed awkwardly.

"I came down on one foot and rolled my ankle and then my leg got stuck and I fell back," Barnes said.

The eight-year veteran is averaging 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 21.1 minutes per game this season.

The Lakers recalled rookie Devin Ebanks from the D-League's Bakersfield Jam on Saturday. Like Barnes, Ebanks plays small forward and could be used to back up starter Ron Artest along with Luke Walton.

Ebanks averaged 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds in five games with the Jam.

Barnes will become the fourth Lakers player to undergo knee surgery since Los Angeles defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7. Kobe Bryant (right), Andrew Bynum (right) and Theo Ratliff (left) are the other Lakers to have recent surgery on their knees.

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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Dave McMenamin

ESPNLosAngeles.com

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Dave McMenamin spent five seasons as a staff writer for NBA.com in New York and Los Angeles before joining ESPNLosAngeles.com to cover the Lakers and the NBA.