“Cartilage damage” in other knee pushes back Andrew Bynum’s return

Andrew Bynum just can’t catch a break. The All-Star center had his return date pushed back three times by now but the Philadelphia 76ers have been putting up with the setbacks, supporting Andrew Bynum throughout the process for the sake of the bigger picture.

Just recently after announcing his delayed return to normal basketball activities by 10^th December, Andrew Bynum pushed back the date by give or take of four weeks due to issues with his other knee as well. Andrew Bynum has already been dealing with a right knee bone bruise that kept him out of training camp and has been holding him back from a regular season debut, but now the left knee appears to be showing similar signs of swelling and an injury. 

"I had a little bit of a setback. Just working through some issues with the right knee, I kind of have a mirror thing going on with the left knee,” said Andrew Bynum. “I don't know what's going on. The doctors are saying it's a weakened cartilage state, so we kind of wait, I guess.” 

“We can't do anything. I just have to wait for the cartilage to get strong." 

The Philadelphia 76ers acquired Andrew Brynum in a four-team trade centered around Dwight Howard, that shipped Bynum from Los Angeles Lakers to his current team. Andrew Bynum’s knee issues have been a prevailing problem since his Lakers days. During May, Andrew Bynum announced his decision to undergo the Orthokine blood-spinning treatment in Germany that many professional athletes with knee issues have undertaken as well. 

Subsequently, the Phladelphia 76ers held Andrew Bynum out of training camp to maximize the effectiveness of the Orthokine treatment. While Andrew Bynum’s return was initially pushed back for training camp to regular season, and then twice different dates during regular season to mid-season, it now faces the risk of being delayed into mid January.

"It's the same exact spot (as the right knee) with the cartilage. Just doing routine things and it started swelling up,” said Andrew Bynum. “No blunt-force injury or anything like that. It's the same timetable still." 

The Philadelphia 76ers are 5-4 without Andrew Bynum after his latest absence in Friday’s 99-93 win over the Utah Jazz. But the Philadelphia 76ers are looking at a long-term future with Andrew Bynum, who is in the last year of his contract. So the overriding issue for the Philadelphia 76ers in Andrew Bynum’s situation remains maintaining his health and productivity. 

"My main concern is Andrew's health. My main concern is big picture,” said Philadelphia 76ers general manager Tony DiLeo. “We want to have a long relationship with him."