Jeremy Lin LinsanityJust like that, Linsanity is over.

Jeremy Lin will have left knee surgery and will be out for at least six weeks.  That means his stunning breakthrough season is likely over.

The New York Knicks announced today that their star point guard had an MRI this week that revealed a small meniscus tear.

With the regular season due to come to an end on April 26, this probably closes the book on Lin’s season.

It’s a tough break for someone who just landed on back-to-back Sports Illustrated covers.

“If this was done very early in the year, obviously…I don’t know where my career would be. I could be, would be definitely without a job and probably fighting for a summer league spot,” Lin said. “But having said that, this happening now hurts just as much, because all the players, we really put our heart and souls into the team and into season, and to not be there when it really matters most is hard.”

The Knicks will turn to Baron Davis in place of Lin, who became a starter early last month and turned in several dazzling performances, kicking off the Linsanity phenomenon.

Lin was averaging 14.1 points and 6.1 assists.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson said the team probably won’t sign any point guards. In addition to Davis and Mike Bibby off the bench, Woodson said Toney Douglas could be utilized more as well.

“I haven’t had a chance to sit down with (general manager) Glen (Grunwald) and (owner) Mr. (James) Dolan and see. My thinking is that we’ll probably go with what we have,” Woodson said. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot out there right now who will make a big difference for our ball club.”

“We’ve got to go on, but he’s a big piece of our puzzle and what we’ve been doing as of late. All is not bad — we have three veteran point guards sitting over there — but we’ve just got to make do until he’s able to get back in uniform,” Woodson said. “But it is a big blow. He was starting to come as a player and it’s not a career-ending injury. Plenty of people play with meniscus problems. He’ll bounce back. We will anxiously await for him to get better.”

Lin left the Knicks’ victory over the Detroit Pistons last weekend and said afterward that he probably could have come back in the fourth quarter had the game been a close one. He participated in shootaround before their game Monday and thought he could handle the pain.

Even though the swelling decreased, the pain lingered and opted for surgery.

“I can’t really do much. Can’t really cut or jump, so it’s pretty clear that I won’t be able to help the team unless I get this fixed right now,” Lin said before the Knicks played Cleveland. “It’s disappointing for me, it’s hard to watch the games and I think I’d want to be out there obviously more than anything right now. But hopefully, it’s a six-week rehab process but I tend to heal fast, so hopefully I can come back as soon as possible and still contribute this season hopefully.”

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