Jorge Garbajosa Wanted to Watch His Surgery

The tired, old cliche about European players being "soft" officially died today. From the Toronto Star:

Facing Tuesday's 1 1/2-hour surgery to repair the gruesome lower-leg injury that fractured his fibula and spun his left foot to an inhuman angle, Jorge Garbajosa was asked for his preference of anaesthesia. There were, the story goes, two options: the full-body knockout or a needle in the lower back to numb everything below the waist.

"Garbo says to the doctor, `Just give me the back shot because I want to see what you're doing,'" said Maurizio Gherardini, the Raptors assistant general manager, flashing a broad smile as he told the tale. "That's the kind of guy he is."

His injury was absolutely gruesome, but the Raptors are hoping the 29-year-old Spaniard will make a full recovery in six months. Garbajosa is apparently hoping to return in five months, though, so that he can represent his country in the European basketball championship in September, which is being held in Garbajosa's hometown of Madrid. I'm sure the Raps would rather him err on the side of caution when it comes to his recovery, so we'll have to wait and see if that actually happens.

The Raptors aren't expected to be able to truly replace Garbajosa in their starting lineup -- especially with Andrea Bargnani also sidelined, they don't have another big man who can draw defenders out to the three-point line and also crash the boards because, well, those guys are pretty hard to find. They were able to crush the Heat in their first game without Garbajosa on Wednesday, and they'll be tested again on Friday when the face the Wizards, whom the Raptors are trying to stave off for the No 3 seed in the East.