Foot surgery for Rick Fox

LOS ANGELES, May 8 (UPI) -- Veteran forward Rick Fox of the Los Angeles Lakers has been scheduled for foot surgery on Monday.

The procedure will be performed by Drs. Jonathan Deland and William Hamilton to repair a ruptured tendon in his left foot, which was injured in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA playoffs against Minnesota.

A determination as to the length of his recovery and rehabilitation will be determined at the conclusion of the surgery.

"He's committed to returning next season as an even stronger player for his team, no matter what it takes," said team spokesman Staci Wolfe. "One very positive outcome will be that not only will he be repairing the injury, but he'll also be correcting a congenital alignment problem in his foot that he's had his whole life, which will enable him to play at an even higher lever."

"There's been a lot of speculation since his injury as to how long his recovery will take, but the truth is that we won't know how quickly he can get back on the court until he gets out of surgery next week," said Jill Smoller, Fox's agent and Director of Sports at the William Morris Agency. "Rick is going in to this with a very positive attitude, and looks forward to coming out stronger, healthier, and ready to go."

The Lakers are down 0-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series against San Antonio, and are in poor physical shape.

In addition to Fox, forward Devean George missed Game Two with a sprained left ankle, and his replacement, Brian Shaw, managed just six points in 32 minutes.

"We have battled through adversity all year long," said guard Derek Fisher. "It kinda has been this team's motto. We have to and will make adjustments before Friday' game. We will figure things out, and come out as a different team Friday night."