The San Antonio Spurs today announced that forward LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the remainder of the 2019-20 season after he had undergone an arthroscopic subacromial decompression and rotator cuff debridement on his right shoulder.
Aldridge injured his shoulder on Feb. 21 in Salt Lake City, Utah. After playing in their next game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he missed the next six games, before scoring 24 points in a win over the Dallas Mavericks, their final game before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Subsequently, the surgery was performed on April 24th, per the Spurs.
"If you can remember, before things shut down, he had the initial injury back in late February to the shoulder and missed a couple weeks, came back and played in the Dallas game," Spurs General Manager Brian Wright said, per the Associated Press.
"We tried to take advantage of the hiatus period with rehab and him working to get back. Unfortunately, it just didn’t progress the way that we all had hoped. The best pathway from there was the surgical procedure. So, we decided to move forward with that and get him ready for next season."
The Spurs are one of the six teams, currently not in a playoff position, that will take part in the season restart which is tentatively set for July 31st at the ESPN Wide Wide Of Sports complex at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida.
MORE: All you need to know about the 2019-20 season restart
They are currently 12th in the West standings, four games behind the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies but just a half-game off the ninth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers.
"Disappointed I won't get to finish the season with my teammates, but excited that I'll be fully ready to go next season and beyond," Aldridge said
Aldridge had played 53 of the Spurs' 63 games, averaging 18.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists on 49.3% shooting from the field. As per the Spurs, the 6'11" forward "is expected to be fully cleared for all basketball activities prior to Spurs training camp to start the 2020-21 season."
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