Carmelo Anthony expressed concern when asked about the latest health issue for Amar'e Stoudemire, a cyst in his knee that will sideline the power forward for two to three weeks and cause him to miss the New York Knicks' season opener.

Anthony and Stoudemire are the two centerpieces of the Knicks, but haven't had as much playing time together in the one-and-a-half seasons since Anthony was traded to New York as some might have hoped. Both have had their separate injuries, making it difficult for the pair of high-usage players to figure out how to mesh their games in a productive manner. When asked, Anthony was disappointed his teammate wouldn't be ready to kick off the season, as reported by Alan Hahn of MSG:

"It's big," Melo said of losing Stoudemire, "especially when our goal was to start off and try to make this push from Day One."

Anthony also expressed disappointment in Stoudemire's unfortunate injury problems:

"It’s always a knack here, a knack there, but we’ve got his back and the most important thing is for him to get healthy right now and take the time to do that. We’ll hold it down for him."

Stoudemire has only been able to play in one of the Knicks' four preseason games. In his absence, the team has started Kurt Thomas at the power forward slot, but many have speculated that Anthony should play the four as he often did in the Olympics. Many have argued that the two talented scorers should each play minutes at power forward rather than attempting to coexist, as the combination that was supposed to take the Knicks to the top of the Eastern Conference has not panned out as hoped.