Christian Wood undergoes arthroscopic surgery on left knee, will be re-evaluated in eight weeks

Lakers big man Christian Wood will begin the season injured as the team announced on Monday he had undergone an arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee.

The Lakers are not going to head into training camp with a clean bill of health this season. On Monday, the team announced that big man Christian Wood had undergone an “arthroscopic surgical procedure” on his left knee and he would be re-evaluated in eight weeks.

If this feels familiar, it’s because Wood underwent a very similar, if not identical, procedure in March of this year. In fact, the wording from the Lakers then and on Monday was nearly identical. The only difference then was that no timetable was given for his return.

Wood never played a game after that surgery last year. While he was available late in the playoffs, he was never used.

At that point in March, it was deemed a successful surgery. The fact, though, that he underwent a procedure that, at worst, is very similar just six months later is far from ideal.

With the Lakers thin on centers and big men, entering the year with just Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes capable of playing center is, also, far from ideal.

The eight-week timetable just to be re-evaluated means, at the earliest, it’ll be mid-November before Wood returns. The more likely outcome is a return sometime in December, months into the season.

Can the Lakers afford to have someone on the injured list that long? It was unclear how would was going to factor into the rotation, but now that he literally won’t be able to play at all, could the Lakers make a trade to open up a roster spot and sign a center?

When healthy, Wood showed some flashes last season. But it was limited to flashes and he moved in and out of the rotation as a result. Once Hayes began excelling, Wood was fully out of the rotation by the time he had surgery in March.

Paired with the report that Jarred Vanderbilt may not be available for the start of training camp and preseason games, the Lakers are suddenly, and once again, facing injury-related issues to start off another season, it seems.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.