Clark to have surgery on Monday

One day after the Jazz said Keon Clark would take at least a couple of days to test his injured right ankle, the decision was made.

Clark will undergo surgery Monday to repair a chipped bone spur in the joint, the Jazz revealed Wednesday night.

"After getting several medical opinions, Keon has made a decision that will help him return to full health as quick as possible, and we support this decision," basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor said in a statement issued by the Jazz.

"We miss his athleticism and experience," O'Connor added, "but surgery will be the best long-term decision for his career."

Clark apparently chipped the spur, which he has had for about 10 years, in the Jazz's final game of the preseason. He missed the first two games of the regular season, then played in two before being put on the injured list Nov. 8.

The Jazz at that time announced Clark would undergo surgery sometime in the following five days, but instead it was delayed while the 6-foot-10 big man sought additional medical advice.

Now, the two-hour outpatient surgery is scheduled to be performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Richard Ferkel, the same surgeon who operated on Seattle's Ray Allen.

Recovery time is expected to be six to eight weeks, according to the Jazz.

STRUCTURAL ISSUES: On Wednesday night, Clark watched the Jazz fall 118-100 to Sacramento, the same team that traded him to Utah over the summer.

Said Clark of his one season with the Kings: "There's really not a lot of structure up there, but enough to where we put up a lot of points and beat a lot of teams last year."

READ ON: Jazz center Curtis Borchardt will be on hand this afternoon to help unveil the newly refurbished Reading and Learning Center at the Murray Boys & Girls Club, a renovation project funded in part by Larry H. Miller Charities, the Jazz's charitable foundation.

MISC.: Former Jazz big man Tony Massenburg, who signed with Sacramento as a free agent in the offseason, finished with four points and two rebounds in 17 minutes for the Kings. . . . Shooting guard Doug Christie started for Sacramento despite a painful foot blister that was supposed to prevent him from playing. . . . Kings sub Gerald Wallace traveled but did not dress due to a sprained knee. . . . Referee Jim Clark used television replay to rule a 3-pointer by Sacramento's Bobby Jackson did not beat the buzzer at the end of the opening quarter.

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