LOS ANGELES (AP) -UCLA forward Josh Shipp underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left hip Friday, the same procedure the sophomore had on his right hip in 2005.
Rehabilitation is expected to take 8-to-12 weeks, with Shipp spending the first month on crutches, according to Dr. Carlos A. Guanche.
Shipp had the same surgery in September 2005, causing him to miss all but four games of the 2005-06 season. He returned this season and averaged 13.2 points as the Bruins’ second-leading scorer, helping them to a second straight Final Four appearance.
Friday’s outpatient surgery involved repairing torn cartilage and removing an area of bony overgrowth of the femoral neck.
“It all went smoothly,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said by phone from Houston, where he was recruiting. “By the middle of September, he should be back to full speed. This time it’s really nice he’s going to have plenty of time.”
The torn cartilage was discovered during a routine MRI, Howland said.
“He had some soreness in his hip toward the last couple weeks of the season, nothing major,” the coach said. “We’re just being pro-active as opposed to letting it fester and get worse.”
Three years ago, Shipp’s older brother, Joe, had the same hip procedure. Joe Shipp was the Pac-10’s leading scorer at California in 2003.
“We elected to have this surgery as a precautionary measure,” Shipp’s mother Deborah said. “It came as a complete surprise to us because Josh played so well this year and his left hip really wasn’t bothering him.”
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