Philadelphia 76ers' Andrew Bynum promises to return this season

Sixers center Andrew Bynum spoke to the media after today's practice, and while he said it will still be a week or two before he returns to practice, he did offer fans a glimmer of hope, saying that he will "definitely" play this season.

Bynum, who was acquired last offseason in the same deal that sent Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets, has yet to play this season due to lingering knee injuries.

Bynum said he won't rush to get back in the lineup, even though his team is struggling. "I'm focused on getting back and being right versus trying to rush," he said.

When asked if his knee was improving or if he was playing through the pain, Bynum said that he was "more tolerating" the pain.

"Without any type of intervention, or surgery, I think I just have to deal with [the pain]," Bynum said.

He also hinted that the pain may never go away.

"I think that after you've played in this league for some time, and logged a lot of games, I think you just wind up getting used to these sort of things. And this is something I'll just have to get used to."

Coincidentally, fans have not been pleased with Bynum's inability to get healthy, but the big man said that fans can't be more frustrated than he is about his current situation.

"I don't think anyone's more upset than myself," he said. "I have the most to lose by not playing and I want to get back. And I could really care less. People are going to support me when I'm doing well and they're going to talk when I'm doing poor and not playing. That's just the business that I'm in and you accept that as an athlete and keep going."

Bynum believes the fans are justified in their disappointment, however.

"They want to win. I want to win. So it's going to be frustrating, but no fan can tell you that they're more frustrated than me. They don't play and, uh, I do."