Shaq has surgery on toe

Advertiser Staff and News reports

Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal will miss most of training camp after surgery to alleviate pain in his left small toe, but the NBA Finals MVP should be in Hawai'i for the camp, according to a team spokesman.

"We're quite sure he'll be there," said Lakers spokesman John Black.

The Lakers open training camp Sept. 29 in Honolulu. They are scheduled to play Golden State Oct. 7. It is not known whether O'Neal will be able to play in that game.

O'Neal will be on crutches for about two weeks and won't run for six weeks, according to doctors who surgically corrected a claw toe deformity on O'Neal's foot Wednesday.

Doctors said O'Neal should be ready for the Lakers' season opener Oct. 30 against Portland.

Team physicians Steve Lombardo and Phil Kwong cut away bone from the inside of O'Neal's small toe. The protrusion irritated the toe beside it and caused a buildup of dead tissue, causing O'Neal discomfort. Doctors also fused the joint of the small toe.

Meanwhile, guard Derek Fisher (right foot) and forward Mark Madsen (left wrist) are recovering from July 3 surgeries but are not expected to be available for the start of the regular season.