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UPDATED 10:15 am: This makes more sense.

According to the Arizona Republic on Monday Bledsoe had a small piece of his meniscus removed, which is a much less serious surgery than had been suggested previously. Removal of the meniscus in a player this young would be unusual, but if is is an arthosopic surgery they may have needed to take off part of it. That would leave a lot of cushioning that will allow a (hopefully) long career.

Bottom line in the short term expect Bledsoe back sometime after the All-Star break.

8:44 am: For Suns fans hoping the Suns can hang on to one of the playoff spots in the deep Western Conference, we have some good news:

He could be back in 4-6 weeks.

The bad news could be the length of Bledsoe’s career if this report is true.

Bledsoe had his meniscus removed during his recent knee surgery, reports Phoenix radio personality John Gambadoro.

If surgeons can, they prefer to repair a torn meniscus. That means a longer recovery time (Bledsoe might be out for the season in that case) but it is better for the knee, it is what Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose had done.

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It also is possible that only a small part was removed, basically cleaned up in a scope operation, and this was a minor injury that will have him back. That would be the most logical move for someone his age.

But sometimes the injury is such that removal is the only option.

That’s what Dwyane Wade had done back in 2002, and you saw in the immediate years after and the 2006 NBA Finals that he was able to play at an elite level.

However if you’ve watched him the past couple seasons, the trouble his knees have given him — particularly in the playoffs — you see the long-term impacts of the removal. This season he has already taken off 9 games to help those knees stay relatively healthy and so he will be able to go all out in the playoffs.

Just something to remember as Bledsoe’s career moves along term. Short term he will back and that’s the good news for the Suns.