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On the same night that Robert Swift shed the mask he had been playing with for more than a month since suffering a nasal fracture in practice in February, teammate Johan Petro had his nose broken by a Joel Przybilla elbow during the third quarter of the Sonics 122-83 win over Portland.

Petro will have surgery to reset his nose on Wednesday and is expected to miss a week of action.

" I'm kinda scared. I've never had surgery before. This is my first one." Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images

"Probably, if everything is going good, I will come back for the San Antonio game [on April 11]," Petro told reporters after the Sonics practiced without him Monday.

Petro did not report any soreness or difficulty breathing, but he is a little apprehensive about the surgery.

"I'm kinda scared," he said. "I've never had surgery before. This is my first one."

Petro can consult a pair of teammates for advice - both Swift (who actually broke a bone off to the side of his nose) and forward Nick Collison have suffered broken noses in the past 13 months. It was Swift's injury that moved Petro back into the starting lineup at center, a spot he had kept until now. March was Petro's best month of the season, as he averaged 8.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, making the timing of the injury unfortunate.

The upside is that Swift will get an opportunity to return to the starting lineup. He had played well enough to start, but Petro had simply outplayed him recently. Swift had 10 points and six boards against the Blazers and was excited to be able to shed his protective facemask.

"They said it was time," he explained. "I've been waiting for it. It felt good."

Swift faces a difficult challenge right away as the Sonics match up Tuesday (7:00 p.m., FSN, ) with the Houston Rockets and 7-6 All-Star center Yao Ming, who had 29 points on 9-for-14 shooting against the Sonics last Wednesday in Houston. Because both Petro and Collison are sidelined, the Sonics will have to scramble to contain Yao.

"It's a one-game situation where we've got no depth to play him, so we're just going to try and give him different looks if we can," said Sonics Coach Bob Hill.

While Swift has experience as a starter, replacing him off the bench will be challenging. Hill prefers 7-0 Mikki Moore at forward, but will likely have to use him as Swift's backup. That should clear minutes for rookie Noel Felix, who had career highs of four points and six rebounds in the longest outing of his NBA career Sunday against Portland.

"It's just giving us a chance to evaluate him," said Hill. "I think he's done a good job. It's a tough position for him to be in, because he's trying to make the team next year and you can't count on when you're going in the game. He had some terrific rebounds last night, he made a shot. He made a couple of mistakes last night, but not bad ones. I think he's definitely a guy that we need to take a further look at this summer and in training camp."

Felix had picked up some extra minutes in the absence of starting forward Rashard Lewis, who did not play in Houston or against the Blazers because of a sprained right ankle. Lewis did not get on the court during Monday's practice and is a game-time decision against Houston.

"I think he's playing tomorrow, but he didn't say one way or another," Hill said. "If he can play and play well, it will certainly help, because he didn't play against them last time."