Metta World Peace excited about his knee’s progress after surgery

On Wednesday, Lakers forward Metta World Peace said his injured knee is doing “really well.�

“I can’t tell you how well it’s doing, but it’s good,� World Peace said. “Just wait and see.�

The Lakers forward had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee Thursday. He injured it on March 25 at Golden State in a loss to the Warriors.

“I was posting up in the second quarter and my foot kind of went out and the knee kind of went in,� he said. “I fell back when I was trying to get post-up position. It’s probably what happened.�

The Lakers are currently 39-36, tied with the eighth-place Utah Jazz, but outside of the playoffs by virtue of Utah’s tiebreaker. The team declared World Peace out for at least six weeks.

While he wouldn’t suggest that he’ll be back sooner (despite saying “Knowing me, I’d play with one leg if I had to�), World Peace was enthusiastic at his progress to date.

“I was on the crutches for a couple of days, but it just gets better every half of day -- it improves,� he said. “I’m very encouraged.�

Naturally, he was concerned at halftime against the Warriors when he realized his knee wasn’t sound.

“All of a sudden you can’t walk -- you can’t run ... something is wrong here,� he said.

Now, he isn’t worried after consulting with the Lakers’ medical staff.

“They saw that inside my knee is looking great, outside of the meniscus tear,� he said. “They said my knee is doing really good for a person who played 14 years in the NBA.�

The Lakers play the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at Staples Center. World Peace isn’t expected to play over the Lakers’ final seven regular-season games -- but if his enthusiasm is any measure, an early return would not be a surprise.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.