NBA

Knicks’ Stoudemire out indefinitely with back injury

In a potentially season-changing blow for Amar’e Stoudemire and the Knicks, the club announced yesterday the star forward is out with a bulging disk in his lower back and that his return date is unknown.

Stoudemire left Saturday’s game against Detroit with lower back soreness and had an MRI exam yesterday. The Knicks have no timetable for his return — they said he will be sidelined “indefinitely” — meaning his season is in jeopardy. He was in Miami yesterday to seek a second opinion.

As of now, Stoudemire will receive what the Knicks termed “non-surgical treatment.” But surgery appears to be a possibility.

“If he has to have surgery, he has to rehab and come back,” interim coach Mike Woodson said last night. And Woodson said this unprompted.

Not knowing anything about the news, Carmelo Anthony was informed by reporters before last night’s 89-80 win over the Bucks at the Garden.

“Oh, [shoot],” was his succinct response.

Anthony’s teammates were equally concerned.

“Amare’s our brother. He’s our leader on this team. He’s the general,” Baron Davis said. “It’s gonna be tough. But we know that he’s a hard worker and he’s gonna come back.”

Dr. Rakesh Patel, a spinal surgeon who works at the University of Michigan’s Department of Orthopedics, told The Post he believes it’s possible for Stoudemire to return this season. According to Patel, non-surgical treatment includes four options: rest, anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy and an epidural injection.

Patel said if those treatments work, it’s reasonable to expect a return in six weeks, which would be too late for the regular season, which ends April 26. But Patel said it’s conceivable for Stoudemire to get to a point in his recovery at which he’s strong enough to play and then, if needed, have surgery in the offseason.

Should Stoudemire eventually require surgery, Patel said he would be sidelined for six weeks post-operation.

“It definitely won’t affect him next year,” he said.

But for the next few weeks at least, Anthony said the news is “a big hit for” the Knicks. Stoudemire is one of the team’s two primary scorers and one of their four key players (along with Anthony, Jeremy Lin and Tyson Chandler).

After not performing up to his normal capabilities in the season’s first half, Stoudemire had excelled in his past few games.

“He’s been coming around,” Anthony said. “It seemed like he got his legs right, his body right.”

With Stoudemire out, the Knicks have a tougher road to make the playoffs. They have a 2 1/2 -game lead over the Bucks for the eighth Eastern Conference spot. But if Stoudemire does not play in many or all of the final 16 games, the Knicks may not be able to fend off Milwaukee.

It’s the second straight year Stoudemire, who is in season two of a five-year $100 million deal, has suffered back woes. He pulled a back muscle during last year’s playoffs and had to spend the offseason rehabbing. After injuring his back Saturday, he insisted he had already improved and expected to play last night. He also assured reporters his back was not a serious issue.

The Knicks’ backup power forward, Jared Jeffries, also is sidelined, with an inflamed right knee. Without Stoudemire and Jeffries, the Knicks will use rookie Josh Harrellson more up front. Last night, Iman Shumpert took Stoudemire’s spot in the lineup, playing two-guard, with Landry Fields and Anthony at the forwards.