Fri May 9 20:24:20 2008

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Battier and Alston have surgery

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Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier and guard Rafer Alston each had surgery on Friday.

Battier underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle. Alston's procedure involved repairing ligament and tendon damage in his right ankle. The surgeries were performed by Rockets team physician Tom Clanton.

"Both procedures went well," Clanton said. "Shane just needed to have a few bone spurs removed from around his left ankle joint. Rafer's procedure involved the repairing of some ligaments and tendons in his right ankle. I expect both players to be ready and available to participate in training camp activities."

Battier averaged 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 80 regular season games, including 78 starts. Alston averaged 13.1 points and 5.3 assists during his 74 games (all starts) this past season, but he missed the first two games of the playoffs versus Utah due to a strained right hamstring. Alston sustained the ankle injury in Game 6 of that first-round series, when the Rockets were eliminated from postseason play.