NBA Injury Update: 6-Foot-8 New Clippers Star Hit With Bad News Ahead Of Media Day

Brandon Ingram's health is a mystery again. The Los Angeles Clippers do not have any real answers involving their new star heading into media day. The two-time All-Star had foot surgery this offseason, and nobody outside his camp knows exactly where his recovery stands right now.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst says the situation is unresolved, and the Clippers plan to address it once players report for their first official day of the new season. For a team still absorbing a rough summer, this is one more variable nobody wanted to deal with.

Brandon Ingram Injury Update Leaves Clippers With No Clear Timeline

Brandon Ingram had surgery on his heel this offseason, and the severity of it is still unclear. Windhorst broke the news on NBA Today, saying that even people close to the situation are in the dark about where things stand.

"Brandon Ingram had surgery in the offseason on his foot, on his heel," Windhorst said. "We don't have an update on how he's gonna be."

The 6-foot-8 forward is heading into a big year with the Clippers after becoming part of the long, drawn-out trade that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. Los Angeles landed Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a pick swap option once the deal finally cleared, though the league also stripped the franchise of five future first-round picks for cap circumvention tied to Leonard's situation. Windhorst expects a real update once media day arrives.

What Ingram's Recovery Means For The Clippers This Season

This is not a brand new problem for Ingram. A heel issue flared up in March and cost him three games down the stretch, then came back during Game 5 of the first-round series against Cleveland, forcing him to sit out Game 6 entirely. He still closed the year with career-best numbers, averaging 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists across 77 games while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three, production that earned him his second All-Star selection.

Ingram had the procedure done in May, and a typical recovery from that kind of surgery runs six to twelve weeks. Whether he's ready by opening night matters a lot for a Clippers team that lost five first-round picks this offseason and now leans on Ingram and Darius Garland as its only two proven All-Stars in their prime, with rookie Keaton Wagler still finding his footing. Los Angeles cannot afford to build around a player who isn't on the floor.