World Peace out six weeks 'at least' with knee surgery

Metta World Peace will undergo surgery on the torn meniscus of his left knee and is expected to miss at least six weeks, via Lakers reporter Mike Trudell.

It was initially speculated that World Peace would miss a stretch of time after sustaining the injury during the Lakers' loss Monday night to the Golden State Warriors, but it is now official. No World Peace going forward.

Once again the Lakers roster has thinned out despite the return of Pau Gasol, and Kobe Bryant coming back after a shot absence due to his ankle injury. Jodie Meeks is expected to slide in at shooting guard while Bryant takes over the reigns at small forward.

After building a small cushion at the eight seed, the Lakers are once again teetering on the playoff bubble as they hold only a one game lead over both the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks. With World Peace out, their already shaky defense loses one of their better isolation defenders on the wings who could also slide up at times and defend power fowards as well.

More on the Lakers:

• Kobe Bryant's defensive hypocrisy knows no bounds - Silver Screen and Roll
• When will Kobe Bryant be blamed for the Lakers' complacency? - Silver Screen and Roll
• Lakers x Game of Thrones sigil fun - Silver Screen and Roll
• Lakers vs. Warriors final score: Lakers get worked by Warriors' backcourt, final score 109-103 - Silver Screen and Roll
• Metta World Peace out with torn meniscus; return date unknown - Silver Screen and Roll

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5_V846zeycs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>