Gallinari out for the remainder of season

Denver Nuggets forward and a key piece of their future, Danilo Gallinari will miss the remainder of the season after having reconstructive knee surgery on Tuesday.

The surgery comes nine months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.

Gallinari, 25, suffered the injury in April in a game against the Dallas Mavericks. He had surgery to repair a torn meniscus but decided to delay the surgery on his ACL.

Doctors originally believed that the ACL could be strengthened and the the surgery would not be required.

This is a huge blow for Gallinari, and an even bigger one for the Nuggets, who believed that they have a young core of players that will lead them to the playoffs and further in years to come.

Gallinari, who averaged 16.3 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Nuggets last year, is expected to be back in the Nuggets lineup early next season.