Come on, folks. We've been saying this for weeks: Dirk Nowitzki's injury and surgery was unfortunate, but not the end of the world.

Dirk pretty much confirmed that during a 15-minute press conference at the AAC early this afternoon. Here's the play-by-play by the always dapper Earl K. Sneed from Mavs.com:

Dirk in how he is feeling: "Not bad, considering it's the first knee procedure in my career."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "We'll see how the next couple of weeks go. ... A timetable at this point is pretty ridiculous to talk about."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "No doctor in the world can tell what's gonna happen in the next couple of weeks."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "Hopefully for the rest of my career I won't have any problems with that knee."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk says it was just some stuff in his knee "that needed to get cleaned out." He's already started riding the exercise bike.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "I hate missing time, first of all. ... I wanted to play, especially w/ these new guys." Says it was the right time to do the surgery.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "I don't think this was anything major. Just something that needed to be done after 14 years."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "I'd love to play next Tuesday, but that's not gonna happen. Just gotta be patient."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk says he isn't going to do anything on the court until the swelling goes away for good. Then he'll need a couple of weeks on the court.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk says he is disappointed that all of his conditioning this summer will be gone, but adds that his legs are stronger this year.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk, team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal and head athletic trainer Casey Smith will make a joint decision before Dirk returns.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "It stinks. There's no other way to put it. ... It's an unfortunate situation, but it's better long term that I got it done."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk is hoping the Mavs can take advantage of their light schedule to start the season until he gets back.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk: "I'm never afraid of working, so I'm gonna do everything I can to get back."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

Dirk says his suit game hasn't stepped up since last season, because he wasn't ready to miss time. He might have to do some shopping.

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) October 23, 2012

So that's it. Nothing much to learn here, except that the surgery hasn't affected Dirk's ability to talk. Oh, and he needs some new suits.

But really, this is just a relief to have Dirk come out and say everything we've been thinking: he'll be fine and ready to go within three to six weeks. It could be three, it could be six. Dirk will just have to wait and see when the swelling from the surgery goes down. Once that happens, it seems it'll take Dirk two weeks to get back in the game.

Follow @Boweman55