Arenas' knees are simply breaking down under the stress of his activity, as proven by continued, chronic swelling and the reduction of function in the twice-repaired meniscus complex. The three-month recovery quoted by the Wizards is extremely aggressive--most physicians interviewed for this piece felt that six months was a more likely scenario--but none would rule it out. "Pain tolerance is what it will come down to," said one orthopaedist who regularly performs this type of surgery on skiers. Arenas may be able to come back from this on his schedule, but for his career, the clock is ticking.