Another woe hit Philadelphia 76ers as their backup center and power forward Nerlens Noel is expected to miss 3-5 weeks after a knee surgery.
Noel had to undergo surgery on Monday to fix inflamed pica above his left knee as reported by Philadelphia Inquirer. The procedure which is expected to take 10 minutes will be conducted by orthopedic surgeon specialist Dr. Riley Williams at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York.
Following the surgery, Noel is expected to miss three to five weeks of the regular season game. He has already been sidelined in the Sixers due to the overcrowded front court. This preseason he only played for Sixers in the Oct. 4 game against Celtics, contributing six points and three rebounds for the Sixers.
The knee problem occurred when Noel had a strain in his left thigh on Oct. 6. Subsequently, he reported a soreness in his left knee and after examination, team doctors diagnosed him with infamed plica and elected to have surgery, according to Sports Illustrated.
Problems in his left knee had been plagued Noel since his rookie year. He had a torn ACL on that knee that caused him to end his college basketball career after one year with the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Afterward, he decided to turn professional. New Orleans Pelicans drafted Noel as the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, and trade him to Philadelphia 76ers
He showed a promising start in the 2014 NBA Summer League. But during his two seasons in the NBA, his left knee continued to bother him. He missed many games for last two seasons due to the injury.
Philadelphia 76ers will open the 2016-17 regular season hosting Oklahoma City Thunder in Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. The Sixers have already missed Ben Simmons after he broke his foot. Fortunately, with the jam-packed front court, Sixers have many options with Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.
Watch the debut of Nerlens Noel for Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 NBA Summer League Game as he scored 19 points on May 22 against Orlando Magic below: