MIAMI, Oct. 4 - Miami HEAT President and Head Coach Pat Riley announced today that forward Caron Butler underwent successful surgery this morning. Butler had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee at HealthSouth Doctors Hospital. The 90-minute procedure to clean out several loose bodies in the knee was performed by HEAT physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick. Butler is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.

The 6’7” forward banged his left knee during practice on Oct. 2. An MRI performed on Oct. 3 showed no cartilage damage, but revealed loose bodies in the knee from a previous injury. Butler, who finished third in last year’s Rookie of the Year balloting, averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1,76 steals and 36.6 minutes in 78 games during the 2002-03 season.