The Knicks announced Wednesday Amar’e Stoudemire will return in 2-4 weeks from the bulging disk in his back as they hope an epidural steroid injection will get him ready for the first round of the playoffs in one month.
There will be no knife but a very painful needle as the club hopes the injection will do the trick. Steroid injections are legal as long as they are inflammatory steroids and not anabolic, according to sources.
It appeared an optimistic timetable that Stoudemire will be fully sound by the time the playoffs roll around. It is a possibility he will need surgery in the offseason to avoid this from becoming a continuing problem, according to sources.
This is a temporary solution, though surgery would cause him to miss the playoffs, too. Wellington Hsu, an orthodepic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, said the injection will reduce inflammation around the nerve root — not the bulging disk itself.
“Even temporary relief from such an injection is enough for the player to return to the court,’’ Hsu said.
A second opinion from a Miami doctor confirmed the Knicks’ original diagnosis that Stoudemire won’t need surgery right now and will undergo “non-surgical treatment.” Stoudemire suffered back tightness in a win over the Pistons on Saturday, and it was announced on Monday that he will be out “indefinitely.’’
Stoudemire flew back from Miami Wednesday after meeting with doctors. He attended the Knicks’ 108-86 win over the Magic at the Garden, but didn’t sit on the bench, getting treatment instead.
The hope is Stoudemire can play a handful of late regular-season games to shake off the rust before the playoffs, if the Knicks qualify.
“We will welcome him back as soon as he can get back on the floor because we need him,’’ interim coach Mike Woodson said at Wednesday’s shootaround. “He’s a big piece to the puzzle. I want him to be healthy when he comes back and not come back trying to play hurt. That’s the most important thing.’’
On Tuesday, Hsu told The Post an epidural is a common treatment and it could get Stoudemire back on the court in as fast as 10 days, but said it would be risky.
According to Hsu, back-strengthening, rehab exercises to increase power in the core over a four-week period is the likeliest course to give Stoudemire a chance to avoid reinjury. Hsu, who has not treated Stoudemire, has done studies on NBA players with bulging disk injuries. He said that 86 percent of players he studied returned to the court.
marc.berman@nypost.com