Livingston's injury is as bad as it gets

An MRI exam revealed that Livingston tore three of the four key ligaments in his left knee -- anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate and medial collateral -- tore cartilage in the knee and dislocated it when he landed awkwardly after missing a layup on a fastbreak in Monday's victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center.

"You're talking about a member of your family, and everyone in your family is affected when something like this happens," Coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Obviously, Shaun is a key member of our team, but that's not your main concern right now. You're thinking about his health."

Livingston, 21, who also suffered a serious injury to his right knee in his rookie season, is expected to have surgery on his left knee in two weeks after the swelling around the damaged area decreases. But many things remained undecided Tuesday because of the severity of the injury, which is uncommon in basketball, team physician Tony Daly said.

The Clippers had not determined who would perform the procedure, whether it would be completed in one step or in stages. Daly planned to consult with colleagues from across the nation before making his recommendation to Livingston.

"Do we pick one ligament, two ligaments, three ligaments all at once? Or do we stagger it? That's where we are right now," Daly said. "My nature is to be conservative, and I have seen people who have had this done by other people and it hasn't worked out.

"That's why we're going to get a bunch of opinions. I'll present it to Shaun and his family, his agent if he wants, and we'll pick the right way to go."

Acknowledging Livingston "might miss all of next year," Daly said he was optimistic that the third-year player's career would continue because "he has worked hard after the other injuries that he's had and he's only 21."

Livingston's knee injury is the most severe Daly has encountered in his career in athletics.

"I've been doing the Clippers for 24 years, and a lot of other people before them, and I've never seen it in basketball," Daly said.

"It's more commonly associated with football