World comes to halt: Metta to

ORLANDO — Metta World Peace revealed that he is scheduled to undergo platelet-rich plasma therapy on his troublesome left knee on Jan. 6 in New York.

World Peace, who missed his second straight game Monday night against the Magic, said he will undergo “the same procedure Kobe (Bryant) got” when the Lakers star twice traveled to Germany to undergo the blood-spinning procedure that has been proven to aid the healing process.

Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods and other high-profile athletes underwent the procedure in recent years under the treatment of Canadian doctor Anthony Galea, who pled guilty in 2011 to bringing unapproved drugs, including human growth hormone, into the United States.

“I called a couple of people that had it done and so they gave me the number to Germany. I called Germany and Germany redirected me back to New York. They said it’s the same procedure,” World Peace said. “I was probably going to fly to Germany to get it done about three weeks ago, but they’re doing it in New York. ... I’m scheduled to go Jan. 6.”

Last season with the Lakers, World Peace underwent surgery in March to repair a torn meniscus, and returned 12 days later for the team’s playoff push. The former Ron Artest added that he had his knee drained of fluid last week “before the Milwaukee game” for a third time since the season started and the fifth time since the summer, and also talked about a cyst affecting the area.

“When you have liquid in your knee, it’s telling you something is wrong with your knee,” World Peace said. “There’s a couple of things that the doctors say might calm my cyst

down. The cyst is the problem. But the cyst is telling me something else is wrong, so the rest and all that is going to be very important.”

World Peace, 34, declined to give the name of the doctor who will be performing the procedure, nor did he offer a firm time frame on a potential return once he receives the therapy.

“After Jan. 6 they suggest that you wait a couple of weeks. Some doctors don’t suggest it,” World Peace said. “I’m just going to have to pretty much be smart. I’ll talk to Roger (Hines, head athletic trainer) and let Roger know if I feel good or not. Some doctors believe you can play right away, like the next day, some doctors believe that and some don’t believe that. So the doctor that’s doing my procedure believes that I’ll be OK and I’ll be able to play right away.”

Mike Woodson said he believes the nagging injury has affected the veteran forward “a little bit” and “slowed him down some.

“Metta’s a workaholic. It’s hard to sit him down and rest. He probably needs rest,” Woodson said.