Andrew Bynum: Outside Surgeon Believes Star Could Face Season-Ending Surgery

When the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to ship off Andre Iguodala and draft picks in exchange for Andrew Bynum back in early August, they never imagined things could turn out this poorly. 

Bynum hasn’t played a minute for the franchise that is paying him over $16 million for the 2012-13 season, and the impending unrestricted free agent may not even get a chance to suit up in 2012-13—or ever—for the Sixers.

According to Jason Wolf of The Delaware News Journal, an outside orthopedic surgeon believes that Bynum’s knee problem could be stemming from “osteochondritis dessicans lesions” and may need surgery that would require the center to rehabilitate for up to a year. 

He would certainly miss the entirety of the 2012-13 season should this be true.

It must be stressed that this orthopedic surgeon isn’t Bynum’s doctor and hasn’t seen his MRIs or any other pertinent medical information, just what the player and team have publicly released thus far. While the surgeon may be an internationally respected one, he’s not familiar with this particular patient and is just speculating on one of many possible diagnoses.

According to Wolf’s report, should this surgeon be correct that Bynum is suffering from lesions, his medical textbook research reveals that there is a 30-to-60 percent chance the center will need surgery.

Bynum, just 25 years old but already having dealt with a multitude of injury woes over his seven seasons of NBA experience, was supposed to help Philly transform into a true contender in the Eastern Conference. Instead, he’s been a distraction and source of frustration for the fans.

Earlier this week, the big man disclosed that he suffered a setback when he was bowling. An MRI showed new damage to his injury-plagued left knee. This awful news comes after the former Los Angeles Lakers star missed training camp and all of Philadelphia's regular-season games thus far.

We’ll keep you updated right here with the latest news, updates, opinions and analysis on Bynum’s rocky recovery and hopefully an official word on the medical front as soon as it breaks.