Updated

Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe needs surgery on his right knee and is out indefinitely.

Bledsoe has missed the last four games after hurting his knee in a Dec. 30 win over the Clippers, his former team. The exact extent of the injury will not be known until Bledsoe is in the surgeon's care, however the team suspects that he suffered meniscus damage.

Bledsoe has been crucial to the Suns' early season success, averaging 18 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per contest in his first year as a full- time starter.

Leandro Barbosa, 31, who inked a 10-day contract with the Suns on Wednesday and played 13 minutes in his season debut against Minnesota, will be thrust into a more important role with Bledsoe sidelined. Barbosa spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Suns before stints in Toronto, Indiana, Boston and E.C. Pinheiros of the Novo Basquette Brasil.