Khem Birch Undergoes Surgery to Clean Up Ailing Right Knee

Toronto Raptors center Khem Birch has undergone offseason surgery to repair his ailing right knee

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

After a 2021-22 season plagued by an ailing right knee, Khem Birch has opted to undergo offseason surgery, the Raptors announced Thursday.

The 29-year-old center had arthroscopic surgery to clean up loose debris in his right knee Wednesday morning in Los Angeles by Dr. Daniel Kharrazi at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, the Raptors say. He'll rehab in Toronto with the Raptors medical team and is expected to be ready for training camp in September.

This will likely end Birch's chances of playing for the Canadian Senior Men's National team this summer after the team announced he'd be one of the 14 players committed to the organization for the next three years.

Birch played in just 55 games for Toronto this past season, averaging 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He was bothered by the knee injury for the better part of the season and had said he expected it to linger on throughout the year and potentially into the future.

A Montreal native, Birch signed with the Raptors in the middle of the 2020-21 season after being waived by the Orlando Magic. He signed a three-year, $20 million contract last offseason and will be entering the second season of that deal next year.

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