Philadelphia, PA

The Philadelphia 76ers are now unsure whether center Andrew Bynum will be able to play for them.

General manager Tony DiLeo said they no longer have any timeline for Bynum to return. He was originally scheduled to return for practice on December 10.

Bynum has bone bruises in both knees and is dealing with a "weakened cartilage state."

DiLeo said the state of Bynum's knees has worsened since the team traded for him in August.

"His knees now and the MRIs are not the same; it's a different type (of) situation," DiLeo said.

The Sixers had four doctors look at his MRI at the time of the trade. Bynum is believed to have done additional damage by bowling two weeks ago.

"(The bowling injury) is an unfortunate situation; when the cartilage is in a weakened state anything can happen," DiLeo said.

Bynum has been instructed to avoid any activity that could cause stress on the knees. He is limited to doing low-impact rehab.

The Sixers are consulting experts around the world and examining Bynum's rehab closely. A surgical option to repair the cartilage has not been discussed.

DiLeo said the Sixers are already looking at other options.

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