Six weeks after dislocating his right shoulder, Elton Brand has elected to have surgery and will be out the rest of the season, Sixers president Ed Stefanski announced Thursday.
The surgery is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the Wilmington Surgery Center, where Brand had his ruptured Achilles tendon repaired in 2007.
According to a release from the team, Brand’s MRI results were reviewed by team orthopedist Dr. Jack McPhilemy and Wilmington orthopedic surgeon Dr. Craig Morgan who concluded that the initial tear of the labrum in Brand’s right shoulder is responsible for a considerable decrease in the range of motion and instability that made it impossible for him to play effectively.
Brand first tried non-surgical treatment during the first five-and-a-half weeks after the Dec. 17 injury, and was back in action on Jan. 24 against New York. He played five more games after that before finally sitting out the second half of Tuesday’s game against Boston with what he said was stiffness in his shoulder.
The team initially said an MRI done on Wednesday showed that the injury was healing, but Morgan and McPhilemy determined that to reduce the risk of further damage to the shoulder, surgery is needed.
“Elton wanted to do whatever he could to get back on the court and initially elected to forgo surgery in order to help his teammates,” Stefanski said in the release. “He worked as hard as he could over the past six weeks to return, however the scope the injury would not allow it.”
Brand, who was signed as a free agent last summer, finishes with averages of 13.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.55 blocks and 1.3 assists in 29 games.