PORTLAND, Ore. – The day before their season opener, the Trail Blazers lose one of their starters.

Nicolas Batum will have shoulder surgery Friday in Los Angeles at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopadedic Clinic, according to the team Monday.

Batum said he will be out three to five months, which means he’ll miss most, and possibly, the entire season.

The Blazers said he has a torn labrum and it is an injury Batum has played with for months. But in the last two weeks the pain became too much, he said.

While Batum is one of the least talked about team members, he’s one of the most important because he’s one of the few who specializes in defense. He is usually assigned to guard the other team’s best players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Batum became a starter a year ago when Martell Webster went down in the preseason with what turned out to be a season-ending injury. Webster is expected to start in Batum’s place.